Breakdown
by EdiblePandas
Summary: The nations are holding a normal meeting when suddenly...zombies! Can they work past their differences to survive?  Sorry, I suck at summaries, please still give it a chance!  Collaboration with KittyKat2583.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes:

KittyKat2583: Ni Hao people! I am the one who wrote the first chapter. This my first collab with someone, and my second time writing a fanfic. If there is something needed in the normal stuff and fluff, I'm the one who should be held responsible. Together EdiblePandas and I, KittyKat2583, have collaborated and thought of the humorous parts. I hope that you enjoy the story. This first chapter is in first person from Canada's point of view, and the rest of the fic is in third person point of criticism is welcome. We apologize if some characters are OOC. By the way, the Jiangshi is a Chinese vampire that hops and resembles the western zombie.(though I don't believe in the hopping part :l it has white hair and black claws for fingernails. it is pale white and a religious man can put a sign on its forehead cure it, but it will remain a corpse. I'm not sure if it's accurate because my Chinese grandma told me about it)

EdiblePandas: And I read somewhere on the internet (so it's probably a lie but still, pretty funny) that it captures people with it's mustache! Mustache POWER!

Kat: ! I do not believe that!

EdiblePandas: Haha. I should introduce myself. Hello dear reader, I am the failure!blood and gore and guts person, EdiblePandas! For me, this is my first fanfiction and collab, so I'm sorry if it's not excellent. If you want to blame anyone for the suffering of these poor characters, blame me. I converted Kat to hetalianism, corrupted her mind, had the original idea for this fic, and write all the zombie stuff that Kat can't. Heck yes! Also, I am partially English and I will use slang the way my family does, not the way Americans do. Sorry if it doesn't fit your idea of England, but no one says "cheerio" or "gov'na" except my sister (when she is making fun of the horrible fake accents that her American classmates use), and I have never heard "bloody hell" used in the middle of a sentence, only as an interjection. If there is an English person who does use those words like that, they come from a different part of England, and their dialect is silly. I hope you enjoy the first chapter, and review, we need constructive criticism. I'll write the next installment, I hope you'll read it! These are the pairings we'll try to incorporate, but we make no promises:

FrUK, Russamer, Prucan, Spamano, (Minor)PoLiet, Gerita, Giripan

Disclaimer: We own nothing, even though I wish I could. T.T

Also, even google docs didn't recognise the word "Canada" when we were working on this. Poor Canada. Who is he again?

P.S. sorry the Author's note is so huge orz. This is the opening chapter though, and it won't be very long for the next ones (I hope). Thank you if you've read all of this!

P.P.S. Today, November 4th, is postponed Halloween where we are because of the snowstorm! Heck yes!

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><p>"OK dudes! Let's get this meeting started! Since I'm the hero, I'll start off first. So about that whole..." I tuned out America's rantings as the world meeting dragged on. His ideas were never thought through and were impossible to carry out.<p>

As usual, I was ignored by every other country in the meeting room. Strangely, England was missing. He was always the earliest to a meeting, but the countries eventually decided that they couldn't wait for him and continued on, some nations visibly annoyed. I sat with Mr. Kumakichi in my arms, unusually thankful that I was invisible to everyone this time.

The door suddenly slammed open, startling many of the nations. Italy jumped into Germany's lap and clung to him with a shrill, "Germany! Save me!" and other nations flinched, while Russia, seemingly unaffected, just smiled innocently. In the doorway stood a frantic England, who pointed an accusing finger at America and France.

"One of you stole my spell book!" England was dripping wet from the rain and shaking with fury, which made me cringe back in fear.

"_Angleterre,"_ said France, composing himself, "why would I want your silly English spell book? I think those imaginary friends of yours have really gone to your head, _Sourcils._"

"You're the one who's got a screw loose, you wanker!" England retorted back to him.

"Dude, it doesn't do anything anyway. Magic doesn't work," America said nonchalantly.

"It doesn't work now, does it? You ignorant bastard!" England hit America on the top of his head, starting a fight amongst the three.

"It's about time someone took that from you, you British jerk of jerks!" Sealand popped his head out from under the table, hitting it on the underside in the process. "Ow!"

"Sealand! What are you even doing here? You're not a country! Why don't you just go home and watch anime or something?"

"I won't, you English bastard!"

"Why you little..." England dragged Sealand out from under the table.

Germany's temper was rising. It was apparent from his twitching eyebrow. He pried Italy off him and started yelling. "Silence! Quit fighting, you can settle this later! This is a meeting!" The bickering nations froze. I shrunk back in my seat more, trying to conceal myself even further. Grumbling, the nations complied and sat down, the meeting continuing as scheduled. Hours of boring speeches and presentations dragged on, England glaring at France and America with more malice than usual. Sealand had snuck, mostly forgotten, back under the table, and France began to rise to make his presentation.

Suddenly, something pounded on the window, a thunk hitting the pane. Another heavy blow fell on it and it shattered, sending shards of glass flying everywhere catching all the nations' attention. Something that looked vaguely human stood in the gaping hole, crunching the glittering pieces underfoot. It smelled of decay and the damp, rotted, and ripped fabric that might have once been a suit hung off it loosely, exposing the drooping, grey, lifeless flesh underneath. Mud covered it from head to toe and through the fabric one could see a scarlet-stained hole in its chest exposing its destroyed innards. It's dull, lifeless eyes stared out, only barely comprehending, at the countries from it's warped and decomposing face as it lumbered forwards towards the closest nations, the Asians. A tortured moan tore from it's twisted lips.

England was the quickest to react. "What the hell is that?"

China, who was clad in crimson traditional Chinese clothing, was in a state of shock. "A_iyah! _It's the _Jiangshi, _aru! The legend is true, aru! It's going to devour us all, aru!"

My brother, America, seemed to be the most confused nation out of all of us. "Dude, is that a zombie?"

The reanimated corpse lunged forward at Japan, his mouth opening to dig into the nation's flesh and feast upon him. Japan's eyes widened and he was unable to move. Suddenly, a loud bang resonated throughout the room and the zombie frose, then fell down to the floor and didn't move again.

Switzerland had taken out his assault rifle and shot at the grotesque figure in the head. Of course, no one was supposed to bring a weapon to a meeting, but they weren't going to scold him for it, especially since he just saved a nation. The alarmed countries froze before talking feverishly, unable to believe what they had just seen. Yet the proof was right there, lying on the floor in the clothes it was buried in. Italy flung his arms around Germany once more and hid his head in his chest. He was shaking like a leaf. The event had even broken through Japan's calmness. Switzerland fired once more at the figure, making sure that it was dead and effectively silencing everyone.

"Everyone listen up!" Switzerland's voice cut through the deathly silence. "Whatever that was, there's still probably more of them. We need to prepare ourselves. I suggest that we go back to our hotels and scavenge up as many weapons as we can to fight those things off. Does everyone concur?" A murmur of agreement arose from the seated nations.

"Alright then. We return back to this meeting hall once we retrieve our weapons. Is that clear? OK. Move out!"

"Dude, hold on a sec. We can't just leave in the middle of a meeting. It's against the rules. What if our bosses find out? By the way, what are the rules for the meeting again?"

"You bloody idiot! Learn how to use proper English! It's not a sec, it's a second. Have I taught you nothing!"

On the other side of the room, the nations were arguing with each other to decide on what was the best option. The soft whisperings soon turned into loud yells.

"We can't go on our own. What if a zombie decides to attack one of us?" said Finland. His worried blue eyes looked up to Sweden, who was staring disbelievingly at the rotting corpse.

Prying Italy off himself once again, Germany yelled, "Everyone shut up!" all of the nations turned to face the commanding German. "Since no one can agree with each other, we're going to do it my way. All of us are going to split into groups depending on where our hotels are located. We get our weapons and come straight back to the meeting hall. Is that clear?" The heads nodded in compliance.

"_Sehr gut. _Now everyone group up." Germany walked over to Spain and Romano, with Italy trailing closely behind him.

The nations rose and formed into clusters, just as the raging German demanded. I walked over to where my obnoxious _frère_, France, England, and Russia were standing. They all seemed to be having an argument at the moment. America, who was as loud as ever, made it easy to figure out what the dispute was about.

"I can't believe that I'm paired up with a commie, an unfun Brit, and a perv," America whined.

"America, learn proper English for God's sake! And I can be fun! I'm fun-"

"Kolkolkolkol..." Russia said, effectively silencing everyone immediately, except, of course, America.

"Dude, I don't speak English. I speak fluent American." America roared his loud and boisterous laugh.

"You idiot..." England sighed with exasperation. I sadly shook my head at America's dimness.

Suddenly, my brother looked in my direction and recognized me. "Yo bro! Wassup?" It took America long enough, not that anyone notices me anyway.

"America, who are you talking to?" Russia asked with fake innocence.

"My bro. Can't you see him? He's right there." America pointed in my direction. England and Russia followed his finger's direction, but England seemed to see nothing but an empty space.

"_Amerique_, what are you talking about?" France stared right through me, seeing nothing.

"America, you shouldn't point, even if it's at nothing. It's rude." There went England again with his lecturing.

"Dude, are you totally blind or something? I think you need glasses. He's right there in front of us." America lowered his hand to his side.

"My vision is perfectly fine, tosser!"

"No it's not. Seriously, how can you not see him? He's less than four feet away."

"Здравствуйте, Canada. Where have you been?" Russia had his creepy smile in place.

"... I was here the whole time..." Why do people not see me?

England's eyes only then chose to detect my presence. "Oh, Canada, I'm terribly sorry for not noticing you earlier."

"Oh, _bonjour Canada_," France said with a wink of his eye.

"It's okay," I mumbled. I held Mr. Kumajimi tighter to my chest.

"So is this everyone? I don't want to leave anyone behind," England started. "Besides France."

"I say the same for you, _Angleterre_," France interjected. England glared at his long time enemy, but before they could get into the witty banter, America darted away.

"Come on dudes, let's go kick some zombie ass!" America zoomed out of the conference hall with unbelievable speed.

"America you idiot! You're going to get killed!" And so England chased after America while Russia, France, and I trailed behind.

"America! Stop running! Stop!" England yelled after the agile American. We burst through the doors of the building and into the street.

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><p>Now go and review! Go! ! Thank you ^^<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

EdiblePandas: Welcome back, oh reading one! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, and that you will enjoy this next installment as much as I liked writing it. ^^ Also, we had a wonderful fangirl squealing fest when we found out that ff says what country each hit and view is from. *shot* Plus, this story is updated every Friday!

Kat: Yes, that was true. And so the story continues!

Pandas: Also, in this chapter we're sorry if France seems badly written, we forgot he was in this group until we were halfway through the chapter, lol. France is the new Canada.

France: Whyyyyyyyyy? Sacrebleu!

Kat: I'm sorry! T.T It's not our fault that you were invisible!

Pandas: Haha France, this is what it feels like to be Canada! Wait a minute, who are you again? Trololol

Kat: Some manners please Pandas. -.- Respect your elders! And this one's at least

a thousand years older than us, so respect!

Pandas: Haha, he's old!

France: How rude!

Kat: Pandas! Respect your elders! Has my Chineseness not rubbed off on you?

Pandas: Sorry, France, I was just teasing. Or was I? Trololol. Heck, It's long again! Quick, to the story!

Kat: Confucius! Also, Google recognizes Canaadia, but not Canada. -.-' _Now_ the story continues!

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><p>The street looked like a war zone. Rain poured down on smashed glass, cars crashed into buildings, and the few immobile corpses that lay dead on the ground. Canada was afraid that they might get up, but they stayed where they were, their dead eyes staring straight ahead. Everything looked gray and lifeless, drained of color. America stared out at his ruined town, his blue eyes wide with shock and horror. They had only been in the meeting for a few hours! How was it already like this? He felt a small pain in his chest, the pain of losing his citizens. Why hadn't he noticed it before?<p>

Other nations were also looking out with dismay, noticing the dull ache in their bodies and imagining what their cities must look like. Finally, Russia broke the silence of their miserable group. "Let's go, da?" the giant nation said, walking slowly out into the deserted streets. England, America, France, and Canada followed silently, too shocked to refuse his command.

Rain soaked their hair and clothes as they walked toward the inn they were all staying at. America was grumbling about how he didn't know that the commie was in the same place and that he would have gone to a different one had he known. England could feel the anger coming off the Russian in waves, so he decided to change the subject.

"Why are you not at home anyway, America? Couldn't you just stay in your house?" he asked.

"No way, dude! Last meeting I was late because I fell asleep again after I ate breakfast, and my house is in New York, so I was really late! So my boss said I had to go to an inn really near the meeting place, so I wouldn't be as late! So I decided to go to the one you were in!"

"America, don't you think you should've let us go to bed sooner so we didn't sleep in?" Canada suggested.

"No way! I was up last night watching horror movies, because I'm a hero!"

"Ah, so America was the one screaming last night?" asked Russia, smiling sweetly. "I couldn't sleep."

"You idiot, go to bed when you have something to do in the morning!" yelled England.

"But it's my duty as the hero, I have to be brave! It can't be helped!"

"Kolkolkolkolkolkolkol..."

"Then why did you make me come all the way from my house to watch the movies with you, if you're so brave?" asked Canada, but of course he wasn't heard over his twin's obnoxiously loud laugh.

"America, be quiet," Russia ordered.

"You can't tell me to be quiet, commie! I can do whatever I want!"

"Have you already forgotten why we're here? Those things can most likely hear you."

"Zombies are stupid! And it's my country, a free country instead of your commie one! I have freedom of-"

Quickly, mangled hands reached out of an alley and wrapped around the loud blond nation, dragging him towards the hungry mouth of a female zombie. Her skin was still bleeding from jagged scratch and bite marks, and she looked freshly dead, not rotting. Her left foot was missing and her soulless eyes stared out blankly from her skull as she pulled him nearer. America's eyes widened and he yelped, his brain going blank. Her broken jagged teeth were inches from his skin, and he opened his mouth to scream, thrown off balance and unable to fight back.

A loud metallic "clang!" resonated through the streets, followed by a thump as the zombie hit the ground, it's skull cracked open and her unseeing eyes looking up, uncomprehending, as rain continued to fall down onto her body. Russia held his bloody pipe tightly in his hands, removed from where it had been hidden in his clothes.

They were all frozen for the briefest of moments, and then America started talking, as was his way.

"I knew you would break the rules you-mfffff!" he yelled before Russia grabbed him and put a gloved hand over his mouth. America struggled in the Russian's arms, mumbling what sounded like strings of profanities all the while.

"You should be quiet, da?" he asked innocently.

"You really are a complete idiot, America. I think that you might have hamburgers for brains! Do you not know when to keep your mouth shut?" England scolded the boisterous nation.

A very faint "mffffffphmmmnnnn!" was heard from behind Russia's glove.

"You should keep quiet too, I think, England. America, I'll let you go if you promise to not talk, da?" The only reply was a muffled refusal.

America twisted around and wrenched himself out of the other country's hold, being stronger than any other living nation, and lost his balance because of it. He fell backwards towards the zombie that was still dead on the ground. America did not want to fall on that zombie. It would be way too gross.

Instantly, Russia's arm shot out and he caught him, pulling America closer, their noses nearly touching. America's breath hitched and blue eyes stared into violet ones. Then, his cheeks faintly red, he pulled away, muttering something about "the damn commie".

The land of the free and the home of the brave stormed away, passing Canada, France and England and focusing straight ahead, staying silent for once. Russia was slightly confused, but he was happy that no more of the undead were being led to them by America's voice.

After a few minutes of awkward silence and walking, they reached the inn they all resided in. America pushed open the simple white door. He preceded inside, but the whole place was eerily devoid of life. The emptiness and quietness of the area was unsettling. The only sounds that were heard were the steady breathing of the nations, the rain outside, and the dripping of water from their clothes.

America thought it was like something out of a horror movie. The weather outside was getting worse and rain pounded on the sides of the building. Even though it was the afternoon, no light from the sun permeated the clouds, giving it the appearance of night. He glanced around to find that there were dim corridors leading off the room they were in. Corridors that someone, or something, could be hiding in. Suddenly, lightning flashed and thunder crashed, and America jumped, screaming, into the arms of the person closest to him. Unfortunately for him, it was Russia.

Russia gazed curiously down on the frightened nation that had flung his arms around him and buried his face in his overcoat. America was shaking a little, thinking about the horror movies he watched last night with...umm...Ca..Canaadia? The large nation awkwardly hugged the blond back, wondering why the other would turn to him for comfort. Weren't they enemies? America looked up, eyes widening when he saw it was the commie he was hugging, and sprung from the encircling arms.

"Dude, what the hell do you think you're doing?" America shouted.

"I was not doing anything. You were the one who jumped on me, da?" The Russian nation said.

"Yeah, but, you...you...you hugged me!" America said accusingly, pointing a finger. "That's harassment!"

Russia looked at him with confusion. "Harassment?" he asked. He didn't see why it was harassment. Choosing to just ignore the boisterous nation so he wouldn't be tempted to whack him with his pipe and break their temporary alliance, he turned away and started to go through the hallways to his room. The other nations reluctantly followed, not wanting to split up in this creepy, unwelcoming, setting.

They quietly made their way to their rooms behind the only person with a weapon, Russia. Doors hung open slightly near the front and they passed them with care, for they heard snapping and tearing sounds from within. Their ears strained for the slightest creak or rustle from anywhere. Suddenly, they heard a squeak from the floorboards over their heads and a bloodcurdling wail from upstairs. All eyes turned upwards as something began to smash down on the floorboards to break through. A chorus of terrible screams rose up from all around as the intruders were revealed. Zombies began to stumble out of the dimly lit rooms and then the nations began to run through the halls, dodging the lunges of the slow moving undead.

England saw his hotel room door and stopped to pull out his key card, ignoring the screams from America to keep running. He hurriedly stuffed it in it's slot, praying that he wouldn't be ripped apart before he could open it. He blocked out the unintelligible moans of the dead and threw open the door, tugging the others inside and slamming it shut.

The zombies began to pound on his door and Russia stood in front of it, pipe at the ready, while England leaped for his suitcase and tore it open. He pulled out two almost identical swords, except one had a green and brown hilt while the other was blue. They both had strange symbols engraved into their blades. For a split second, England looked as if he was contemplating something. Then, with an expression of great reluctance, he shoved the blue-hilted sword into France's hands.

"I'll kill you if you break that, Frog!" he threatened. Then the weak hinges of the door broke down and the horde was upon them.

England lopped off the arm of one, but it kept coming. Russia rained down blows on the crowd, each swing of the pipe followed by a sickening crack, and a few fell, but some were unaffected.

"Go for the head!" America yelled, and England decapitated the zombie. It twitched, and then fell to the ground, only to be replaced by another. France lunged and stabbed a zombie through it's eye, a horrid moan escaping it's lips before it stilled. France froze for a moment, and then tore the sword from it's skull and slashed at the next one.

There seemed to be no end to them and England wasn't sure how long he and the others could keep fighting. Hands reached out for him and he was having trouble striking the head. If there wasn't a way out of this situation fast, they might all fall prey to the undead.

America desperately looked for something to fight with. He was the hero of the world, after all! Turning around, he spotted the big windows on the other side of the room. There were no zombies outside. Fine then, he would give them a route to safety!

"Guys! We can escape out the window! There are no zombies out there!" he yelled.

"Fine! Break the glass and we'll follow!" England yelled back. He sliced another zombie head off it's shoulders.

America charged at the window and broke through to the outside, his brother following right behind (not that anyone noticed). France rushed out first, followed by England and then Russia, and they fled from the sluggish undead. They ran down the rainy wet streets, their only thought being to distance themselves from the zombies and fast. One thing was for sure, they weren't going back there again.

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><p>Pandas: I'm kind of sad we forgot France. We could have had him make a perverted remark about America screaming in the night.<p>

Kat: Mhmmm...

Pandas: But we'll have him later! And I'll try to make him extra pervy! Because who isn't amused/turned on by France's antics?

Kat: Mhmm... Yeah, I'm no good with that pervy stuff.

Pandas: No need to fear, my more innocent friend! I'll do it.

France: Ohonhonhonhonhon~

Pandas: Goddammit, I can't think of anything right now! *headdesk*

Kat: I don't know... But can I whack France with my wok so that we don't get raped now? *eyes France suspiciously*

Pandas: Do whatever you like~ Just don't kill him. Save that for later *evil grin*

Kat: I will, trust me, and I shall enjoy every moment of it. It's what you get for scaring China, France. *Throws evil glance at France and pulls out wok from hammer space*

France: *is nervous*

Pandas: Dammit Kat, only anime characters are supposed to have hammer spaces.

Kat: I don't care. My now dominant dark side pays no heed to that on this dark and evil night. Ufufufufufu~

Pandas: Well okay then, Miss Kat. Have fun with that.

Kat: I shall, 我朋友. }:) Ufufufufufu~

Pandas: Also, REVIEW. PLEASE. I NEED REVIEWS. **WE** NEED REVIEWS.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes:

KittyKat2583: Ni Hao! This chapter is mine to write and stuff now! Since I am not grammatically correct sometimes, EdiblePandas can edit all of that and have it make sense. I apologize for that, since I have spent the whole summer speaking nothing but Cantonese. I hope that we do not forget any characters again, but I make no promises...

EdiblePandas: Let's forget Prussia next! :D

Prussia: Why the awesome me?

Pandas: I've already forgotten France, why not the whole Bad Touch Trio? :D *is kidding*

Kat: *does not get that she is kidding because I take things seriously* Pandas, listen to Confucius! Aiyah! Seriously! Respect your elders! And this elder is awesome! Ore-sama! (Side note: Chinese people do not end sentences with aru! It's "Ah." I should know, I'm Chinese!)

Pandas: Aru is cuter than ah! So just go with it, yo.

Kat: I shall not! I refuse to say "aru!" It does not exist!

Pandas: But China is so cute when he says it! ^^

Kat: Aiyah! *face palms*

Pandas: Anyway, we changed the plotline of this chapter somewhat before posting, so we apologise if some things seem odd or off. Also, translation of China's frantic screaming at the bottom. :D

Kat: I kinda find the screaming self-explanatory without the translation, or is that just me?

Pandas: It's in CHINESE, Kat. No one understands it but you and the few people from China and Hong Kong who read this. Hi there! :D China will *insert morbid spoiler comment for chapter* and *spoiler spoiler spoiler* Japan!

Kat: Aiyah Pandas! Don't be so cruel to my family's homelands! And it's still understandable *quietly adds aru to that* And stop giving out spoilers! Aiyah, seriously, you do that too much in real life.

Pandas: Sorry T.T I get overexcited. On to the story!

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><p>"Aiyah, aru," China gasped as he gazed at the desolate street, "America's citizens should learn how to clean up after themselves, aru." It was what one expected to see if all of hell broke out of the deep depths of the earth. The grey sky made the entire town look dull and lifeless. China, Japan, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein walked out to the middle of the dead street where a few corpses lay scattered. The miserable scene around them sent a dull pang through their hearts.<p>

Liechtenstein couldn't contain the sorrow she felt inside of her. Silent tears slid down her face as she covered her left eye, which had been bothering her for hours but only now started to sting painfully. Even her dainty dark violet-blue ribbon drooped a little. The setting was too much to take in for the poor girl.

Japan was stricken, though he wore a mask of saddened calmness at the sights around him. The Asian knelt down to the ground, spotting a small doll of a little girl. He picked it up, holding it gingerly in his hand. Anguish pierced through the short man as he thought of the country of his loud American friend.

Switzerland was as tense as ever, his shotgun at the ready. The area was too dangerous to be in. He wanted to get to safety as soon as possible. The European nation glanced over at his little sister. Why was she covering her eye like that? He called out to her.

"Liechtenstein? What's wrong with your eye?" He asked. The young girl looked up at him in question.

"Oh, big brother," she said timidly, "My eye hurts, but it's nothing to worry about. I'll be fine." The Asians looked to the siblings.

Of course, Switzerland's worry could not be assuaged. "How bad is it? Does it hurt a lot? How long has it been hurting? Why haven't you told me earlier, Liechtenstein?"

"Hmm? I didn't want to worry you, big brother. You have enough on your mind as is, and I didn't want to add on to the stress that's already there." Switzerland stiffened at those words.

"Uh... Um... That's alright. Just don't bottle up what you feel, okay?" He had a faint blush sprinkled upon his cheeks. Liechtenstein replied with a nod. "So, let's go." Switzerland looked quite awkward for the moment.

The group shuffled through the deserted wasteland. None of them spoke, which only contributed to the eeriness of the situation that they were in. The Asians saw a discrete exchange between the European nations as Switzerland inconspicuously handed Liechtenstein a small hand pistol, but it was merely shrugged off.

They approached their hotel, which now seemed dark and ominous as they walked up to the doors. Japan felt his way around the lobby in search of the corridor. He wandered along the walls until he stumbled upon what he was looking for. Japan started his way down the hall while the others followed suit. The countries stopped when they reached Switzerland and Lichtenstein's door.

"Okay, so we split up now to go to our rooms, but meet up back here. Is that clear?" Switzerland took the leadership role for now. Everyone nodded in agreement. "If anyone is attacked by one of those things, just shout." The group dispersed as the Asians went further down the hallway and to their rooms at the far end.

China and Japan went to the far east side of the building. The silence between them was nearly making China go insane, so he tried to start a conversation.

"This _Jiang Shi_ business is really stressful on my nerves, aru. I wonder why they showed up so suddenly, aru." He turned to Japan as they walked down the dark corridor.

"_Hai._ This is most unusual, _Chuugoku_. Though, I think that they are zombies, not vampires," the always stoic Japan stated.

"Eh? They are so similar to my version of a vampire though, aru. Are you sure, aru?"

"_Hai, Chuugoku._ They are what the Western nations call zombies. America-san has many horror movies based on them." This made Japan remember the time when America made him watch a ghost movie with him and "Mr. Pillow."

"Western nations are so confusing, aru. They should have a difference between the _Jiang Shi_ and a zombie, aru."

"They do, _Chuugoku._ It's just that you don't really have a difference between a vampire and a zombie. You have them mixed into one in your vampire stories."

"Eh! No, it's America that should have a difference between them, aru! He practically has a zombie and a _Jiang Shi_ as the same monster, aru."

"You are confusing me with your speakings. I shall try to make sense of it when I retrieve my katana and think of an appropriate answer to that." Japan peeled away from China and slid his room key into the slot. A green light flashed and he pushed the door open. Once inside, he closed the door on the face of a confused China.

China scratched his head, not understanding the response of his fellow Asian. He continued to his room, which was right across the hall from Japan's. The door of the room was slightly ajar, which confused the Asian man. He was certain that he had locked it when he had left. China pushed the door open, and to his relief, everything was in the correct places that he left them in. He walked up to the closet and slid the door back to reveal his badass Hello Kitty assault rifle. Next to the very pink weapon was his backup quiver and bamboo bow. The Asian nation slung the quiver and bow onto his back and grabbed the cute, yet deadly, QBZ-95 rifle.

When he looked back up, he saw his reflection in the mirror. And there was someone behind him. Someone who was rotting. China whirled around to find a zombie inside his room.

It looked like she had used to be a maid, from the way she was dressed. Maid service had been the reason his door was open. The woman stumbled a bit and then righted herself, only to lumber clumsily forward, one arm outstretched and mouth drooping open. Her eyes stared at him and focused for a second before dulling again. An unearthly wail escaped her lips. Her skin was covered in jagged bite marks and places where chunks of flesh had been ripped away, which still leaked out thick crimson trails down her body, covering her with gore. Mangled flesh was hanging off her and bones showed through where skin had been torn off and devoured. Blood covered her mouth and her other arm was clearly broken, hanging loosely at her side.

China was paralyzed, his mouth agape, mouthing words but making no sound. The maid swiped at him, missing him by only inches. China broke free from his momentary paralysis and ran past the zombie and into the hallway, too terrified to remember his English. "哎呀! 僵屍, 啊! 救我, 啊!"

He spotted a maid service cart around the corner and ducked behind it. The Asian huddled in on himself and held his breath. A strange rustling came from the white sheet covering the cart. China slowly raised his head to see what was sheet flew off, revealing the male zombie that had been hiding in it. Rancid air blew in China's face as it's lungs pitifully tried to breathe again. It's eyes stared at the Asian and a moan came from the parted lips as its disintegrating hands clutched at his clothing. It's mouth opened painfully, unnaturally wide to close on the Asian's head. Quickly, China ripped himself away, his shirt being torn in the process.

China jumped from his location, and the maid started to chase him as well. He ran and pounded his fists on Japan's door. "Japan! Japan, help, aru! Japan, aru!" The stiff corpses of decaying flesh hopped towards the frantic Asian man.

* * *

><p>Switzerland and Liechtenstein entered their room as the Asians retreated down the hallway. Switzerland walked over to his suitcase and quickly unzipped it. Inside revealed a small handgun fashioned with great care and pride. Underneath the handgun laid another rifle with a glossy finish. Switzerland wrapped his fingers around the handgun and hooked it onto his belt. He then gave the rifle to Liechtenstein who he constantly worries about.<p>

Liechtenstein accepted the weapon, though it felt odd and disturbing in her hands. She knew that it would make her brother worry less over her with two guns instead of one. But still, it was out of place for her gentle and caring demeanor.

"Remember Liechtenstein, aim for the head, OK?" Switzerland asked of her. Liechtenstein merely nodded, her throat feeling tight from the situation at hand.

A thud sounded from behind the locked door and the nations' eyes (one eye in Liechtenstein's case) darted towards the noise. Switzerland stepped in front of his sister. Another thump and something crashed through the wood of the door. The thing standing before them was a decaying form clad in a ripped, once fancy suit. Blood sluggishly streamed down his chin and stained his front with scarlet. And behind him were countless others that forced themselves into the room, closing in on the two countries.

Switzerland and Liechtenstein heard one of the Asians screaming for help in his native language. Upon hearing this cry for help, Switzerland cocked his rifle and shot more determinedly at all the zombies. The undead dropped to the ground once there was a bullet buried in their skulls. Lakes of blood pooled onto the floor. Liechtenstein had tried to shoot at one zombie, but found herself unable to pull the trigger to end the other's undead life. Switzerland had noticed and whipped out his handgun to clear a path for him and his sister to escape. The zombies were now just moving targets for the older blond nation.

He fired both weapons in rapid succession and the enemy dropped dead by the dozens. This was not a difficult task for Switzerland, and he killed many of the zombies under five minutes. The dead were scattered on the floor in massive piles. Switzerland strapped his rifle to his back and looked at Liechtenstein.

"We should go and help the others. Be careful, their could be more zombies lurking around in the corridors," Switzerland told his little sister.

"Alright. Let's go, big brother," said Liechtenstein in her timidity. The two headed down the hallways and searched for the Asian siblings.

* * *

><p>Down the hall the door was flung open, revealing the desperate scene to Japan. Unfortunately, China accidentally banged Japan on the head, causing him to yelp out in pain. His normally emotionless eyes scanned the scene before him. Upon seeing the zombies, sparks of determination flared in the island nation's eyes. Unsheathing his katana, Japan samurai leaped at the invading corpses. The sword cut through the air, slicing a long gash into the maid, who bellowed a deafening roar of pain. China was cornered by the other zombie. Japan quickly stabbed the zombie's right eye, going through the back of its skull, effectively killing it. He rushed over to aid China, who had forgotten about the weapons strapped to him. Japan decapitated the corpse and stabbed its severed head, after which the body fell to the floor.<p>

China looked up, at Japan. They were both covered in the dead man's blood. The immortal was shaken, where as Japan watched him tremble with mild concern. "Aiyah, aru. They are _Jiang Shi_, aru."

"No, I believe that they are different. You cannot kill a _Jiang Shi_ with a simple katana, I believe. Aren't they killed with fire or some monk in your folklore?"

"Eh? I guess your right, aru. Yeah, aru. You can't kill them with that silly sword, aru." China tried to convince himself that the monster was not a vampire. They wore Ming dynasty clothing, after all.

Two sets of footsteps rushed up the hall had alerted the Asian brothers. They looked up to find Switzerland and Liechtenstein coming towards them. Switzerland was the first to speak.

"What happened up here?" he demanded.

"I don't know, aru..."

* * *

><p>Translation: "哎呀! 僵屍, 啊! 救我, 啊!" This means, "Aiyah! <em>Jiang Shi<em>, aru! Help me, aru!"

Kat: This is a bit too short for my standards, but I didn't know where else to end it . Also, I apoligize for the horrible and short Switzerland and Liechtenstein part. And I tried my hand at writing gore and stuff, and Pandas edited some things on that too, so I hope that it's good, somewhat. *does kowtow*

Pandas: I think it a fine ending, dear sir.

Kat: I'm a dudette... otherwise know as a girl

Pandas: I care not if you are female, you are a sir, sir.

Kat: Um, so I'm a gender neutral chibi thing now?

Pandas: Correct. Sir.

Kat: -.- I'm a girl.

Pandas: That you are, sir.

Kat: It's ma'am... Wait, no. It's Miss because that's for single girls, right... BUT IT'S NOT SIR! So... BTW, how many of you are Hello Kitty fans? (just wondering, you know) I LOVEEEEE Hello Kitty! Anyway, until next time, dear reader.

Pandas: Dear reader, sir.


	4. Chapter 4

EdiblePandas: I died trying to get this chapter finished. Not only was their Thanksgiving, but a family friend from Denmark came to live in my house and my mom has been dragging me everywhere so the friend can look around, including freezing outside outlet malls many miles away and a certain famous city I live near. I apologize if this chapter sounds rushed. T.T Also, I apologize that it is somewhat late; I was being dragged around on the day I thought I could complete it from 9:00am until 6:00pm.

KittyKat2583: At least its up there. And we nearly died of a cuteness overload from imagining the Italies in this chapter. Awwww! I wanna hug them all!

Pandas: Another note: I fail at Germany. Hard. OTL. Also Italy being all soldier-y is adorable! ^^

* * *

><p>Italy clung to Germany as they, Spain, and Romano made their way to Germany's car from the meeting place, rain pouring down on the desolate area. Their hotel was the farthest away, and walking was out of the question. Reaching the car, Germany got in the driver's seat with Italy next to him, Spain and Romano in the back. There was no movement or life as they drove through the small town. They made their way outside of it and onto an empty highway, eerie for lack of cars. Romano was cursing the rain, the road, the zombies, the potato bastard driving, and anything else he could think of while Italy attempted to climb onto Germany's lap, almost causing the car to crash.<p>

They saw a few zombies shuffling around as they passed, one dragging itself across the ground. The zombies watched the car go by and moved slowly toward it, but then it had gone past them and they blinked and started again to search for what might end their insatiable hunger. Italy started to tear up and Germany didn't know how to comfort him.

After driving for a while, they pulled up at their hotel and went inside, not daring to make more noise than they had to. It was a big hotel, a couple of stories high, and there was an elevator to their right. They punched in their floor number and the humming of the machine cut through the silence, making Italy nervous. They were all on the same floor, and they quietly got out together to go to their respective hotel rooms, which were not far from each other.

The Italy brothers quietly slid their key card through the lock, and with a small beep the door unlocked and they rushed inside, remembering to quietly shut the door. They then set out to find their weapons.

Spain slipped inside his room and closed the door behind him, looking for his weapon. He knelt at the edge of his bed, reaching under and closing his hands on the handle of his battle axe.

Germany swung open his door and closed it behind him, going straight to his dresser. In the top drawer was his whip and his Walther P99. He grabbed both and headed back into the hallway.

Spain was also out in the hall when Germany arrived, but the Italies were still in their room. The Spanish nation was leaning on his gigantic axe, humming while waiting. Germany leaned against the wall.

Suddenly the door burst open and in the doorway stood Italy and Romano. The south Italian was brandishing a pizza cutter and a pan that he had used previously to make tomato sauce in. Italy had a ladle and a pot with a long handle that was used for pasta. On both their heads were mismatched pots, Italy's having a handgrip sticking out while Romano's had two short handles and was bright green. "Ready for duty, captain!" Italy said, saluting, while Romano sulked.

Germany was not sure that was the best choice of weaponry but decided not to comment. As they walked back through the hallway, they noticed the soft sound of crying from behind a door. The group stopped, and then Germany knocked on the door and asked, "Who's there?"

"Go away!" a woman hissed from behind the door as the crying continued in the background. "Noise attracts them!" The nations were surprised. This was the first living human they had met since they set out.

Still curious, Germany asked awkwardly, "Are you...okay?"

"Just leave!" came the reply.

"We're going to join a bigger group. You could come too! I don't think you will be okay here. There isn't food," Italy said through the door.

"And go out there, with them? No way. Just fuck off." Italy winced a little at the harsh tone and words directed towards him.

Romano tried to curse her out while the other nations dragged him away. Down the elevator and through the lobby, they made their way back to Germany's car was. Unfortunately, some zombies had seen the car pull up and had started to swarm it, smashing the windows and reaching inside to grasp at nothingness. Germany gaped at the destruction wreaked on his car. Luckily though, the zombies were so focused on it that the nations were not noticed and could slip away.

"What do we do now, potato bastard?" Romano asked when they were far enough away. "This is all your fault!"

"I guess we walk," said Germany. The odd looking group began to trudge down the empty street, taking another way back.

Italy attempted to be brave by keeping a lookout for any suspicious movement. He swung his head from left to right and spun in a circle to watch for any enemies, trying to look everywhere. Unfortunately, when he did spot something, he screamed and attracted it's attention. It stumbled towards them, and Italy wouldn't stop his loud wails. Quickly, Germany pulled out his gun and shot it through it's head. The zombie dropped to the floor and the bang had silenced Italy. They moved on noiselessly.

Further on, Italy spotted something else. Farther down the street there was a man in a car smashed against a building, trying to climb out the window. Looking up, the man spotted them and called for help. As they rushed to him, they noticed the zombie he had hit that made him crash crawling towards the car. It was still dangerous even if it's limbs were smashed, so Spain cleaved it's head in two, the sickening crack making the Italies flinch.

"Thank god you came along," the man in the car rasped. He was deathly pale. "My legs are trapped, help me get out, please. I have a wife..."

Italy moved forward to help, but the man had become limp inside the car, the spark fading out of his eyes. Italy froze, and the man turned his head and then lunged out of the car for him, grabbing his arm. Italy started to scream, forgetting the ladle in his other hand. He was dragged towards the car, the newly dead eager for it's first taste of flesh.

Suddenly, a pan was brought down on the zombie's head and made it pause. Another blow made the zombie drop Italy and go limp against the car. "Stay the fuck away from my stupid _fratello_!" Romano yelled.

"Romano!" Italy wept, crying out of fear and shaking. He flung his arms around his brother.

"Stupid_ fratello_," Romano muttered, a faint tinge of red spreading on his cheeks.

Italy looked back at the man as they walked on, once living and now limp and lifeless, his body left to be unburied and unmourned. Italy wished he could do something, but there wasn't time to honor the dead now. He looked away, in front of him, and didn't keep lookout anymore.

They made it back to the highway and were walking down it, Spain taking care of the few zombies that they had seen while driving before. After a while, they made it back into the town. They were walking back to the conference when suddenly a loud "Hey!" came from a street they were passing.

Startled, they looked to see America rushing up to them,followed by France, England, Russia, and...and...that guy...with the polar bear...Canadia?

"Hi," said Italy, still trying to be cheery but lacking his usual enthusiasm.

America didn't notice, and said, "Dude! You're wearing a pot on your head! But anyway, you guys don't want to go that way, there are a bunch of zombies! They've been blocking our way back to the conference! So, wanna get some food?"

"Food?" Italy asked, his head picking up. "Like pasta? Is there pasta? I hope there's pasta!"

"Yeah dude, there is an Italian restaurant somewhere here, let's go find it! No one will mind if we take the food, it's the apocalypse!"

"Pasta~" Italy sighed happily. Pasta would make everything better. And so the now larger group followed America to where he said there was a restaurant.

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><p>Pandas: Please review ^^<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

Authors' Notes:  
>KittyKat2583: Finally, we present to you, our dear readers, Prussia, Austria, and Hungary.<br>EdiblePandas: Can I eat them? And then steal Hungary's hammer space? I wanna be able to bring frying pans everywhere without being noticed. By the way, Hungary is BADASS. LOVE HER.  
>Kat: Hey, I'm the one with the hammer space and the wok!<br>Pandas: Then we can fight crime together with cooking implements! We shall be the Cooking Crusaders!  
>Kat: Ok then, but I want a bigger wok and a ladle too! ^^<br>Pandas: And I want a cutie mark!  
>Kat: That's nice. Whatever that is... Anyway, the story continues!<p>

* * *

><p>Prussia, Austria and Hungary had all walked out into what seemed like a ghost town. The desolate streets that were once full of life were empty and silent, crimson trails on the streets hinting at the horrors that occurred. Cars were left abandoned, and blood pooled onto the asphalt, staining it with its vivid red color. The three nations' eyes widened in shock and grief for their fellow nation. How could the once bustling area turn into this haunting sight in only a few hours?<p>

"It would probably be best if we start heading to our inn now," Austria said, breaking the awkward silence. The tension around them was thick enough that even Prussia could feel it, who, surprisingly, didn't say anything. The three walked down the street cautiously.

A few blocks down the road they passed by a mini forest. This had caught Prussia's eye, so he said, "Yo. I think that we could take a shortcut and cut through these woods."

"Okay," Austria said hesitantly, "But do you know your way through them?"

"Of course I do, kesese. I'm so awesome that I know everything."

"Right..." said the aristocrat. The three entered the maze of trees.

After a few moments, Hungary thought that she heard a twig snap from a few meters away from them. She stopped walking and scanned the area for any other thing that might have been there.

"What's wrong, Hungary?" Austria asked her.

"Did you hear anything?" She questioned.

"The awesome me did not hear anything. Stop being so paranoid. Kesesesese~"

"How about you shut up, Prussia," Hungary growled in response.

"You can't make me. I'm too awesome." Prussia's laugh echoed through the trees.

"Prussia, be quiet. I don't want to get killed because of you." Austria said with an air of importance.

"Shut up, rotten young master. I can do whatever I want because I'm awesome like that! Kesesesese~"

Then, sounds of another group shuffling caught the attention of the two males. They stilled for moment before dozens of figures leapt out from behind the plants. They were freshly dead and fast, rigor not affecting them much yet, one of the zombies' blond hair was still spiky. Animals had been zombiefied along with them, running about under their feet. Dogs of all breeds and sizes sported bite marks and blood had dirtied their coats. A small white one growled at the living nations. The people - zombies - still had a hint of life in their faces. Shallow emotions briefly flitted across their features until they gave way for blank expressions. White bones stabbed through flesh and blood trickled in rivulets down their skin, draining from their bodies.

"Scheiße," Prussia muttered, legs locked into place.

The tallest of them lunged forward at Prussia, forcing him to move. Hungary whipped out her frying pan and swung it like a baseball bat at the zombie. The impact sent the creature flying, and it uttered a groan of pain before crawling back onto its feet. A silver-haired zombie then targeted Austria, tackling him to the ground. Austria let out a surprised yelp and struggled to throw the thing off of him. Hungary swatted at the zombie away and helped Austria onto his feet.

"There's too many of them to fight off. We have to run for it," said Austria.

"What! We can't leave now. I wanna fight!" Prussia snapped off a branch from a nearby tree and brandished it like a sword. A brunette staggered toward the former kingdom and with a slashing motion he smashed its head in. Hungary jumped into the fight and started to bash every zombie in sight. They tried to fight off all of the undead, but they kept on coming.

A zombie lunged for Prussia's neck but he struck it down with a powerful blow. A zombie crouched and tried to attack Hungary from below but she held her frying pan so it hit itself on the bottom. Prussia swung the branch around and knocked down a few zombies but killed none, and Hungary hit a few more.

"There's too many of them. We can't fight them off by ourselves!" Hungary finally announced.

"What are you talking about? We can handle them." Prussia argued, ignoring the fact that they would surely lose to the unending army of undead.

"Prussia, stop being stupid before you get yourself killed!" Austria scolded.

"I won't get killed! I'm too awesome for death!"

Hungary had enough of Prussia's stubbornness for one day. She yanked the tree branch from him and tossed it towards the horde. Then, she grabbed Prussia, slung him over her shoulders, and started running towards the inn.

"Let go of me! This is so not awesome!"

"Shut up already," Hungary yelled at Prussia, successfully silencing him. The trio sprinted (Austria and Hungary more or less) in the direction of the inn and left behind the horde by running around houses and making unpredictable turns up streets. After all, zombies weren't smart, nor good trackers. They rounded another corner when they were many streets away from the horde of zombies, which brought them to the front of the inn. They walked inside and Hungary unceremoniously dropped Prussia onto the tiled floor.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for!" Prussia rubbed his arm with his hand, wincing at the pain from the gesture.

"For being so stupid back there!"

"Well we could have beaten them all!" he yelled. Hungary held her frying pan in a striking pose. "Okay, okay! Maybe we were at a slight disadvantage. You don't need to hit me!" Prussia said while trying to shield his face with his hands.

Hungary humphed and turned on her heel, striding away to the staircase. The steps creaked as she made her way to the second floor. Austria followed suit while Prussia stayed a safe distance away from the raging Hungarian.

* * *

><p>Kat: I'm sorry it's so short, but I decided to cut the chapter in half. Plus, the deadline kinda surprised me because I thought that I had more time to finish it. I'm sorry! *kowtow*<br>Pandas: She forgot it was a Friday. Also, REVIEW. PLEASE.


	6. Chapter 6

EdiblePandas: Ok, first of all you lovely people you; I should tell you that **WE ARE GOING TO MOVE POSTS TO SUNDAYS** (capitalized and bold for people who don't read a/ns) because if you haven't noticed, the last chapter I wrote was crappy. Very, very, horrendously crappy as well as late, and that is because I didn't write it on the weekend and had to write it when I had tests and things and trips to places with Danes. **IN SHORT, I FAILED.** If it is moved to Sunday I feel I'd be more focused, so expect another chapter from Kat in two days, to mark our change. Hopefully the chapters will be less craptasic now, and we're planning to go back and edit a few things to make the story better overall. Also, this chapter is mainly just happy times, because I am depressed as hell. Hooray! :D

KittyKat2583: I don't think that it is necessary to use such vulgar words, Pandas. -.- There are substitutes for the "C" word and many other synonyms that can be used. And for some reason I think that I sound like dictionary. -.-'

Pandas: Mrrrrmmfff No dictionaries, I am depressed.

Kat: Ok, I'm sorry T.T

Pandas: Nnnffffiiiipppphhh story. Also, no need to apologize. Also, I apologize in advance for unrealistic cooking, but as I am not an Italian, I am a British Scottish/American, I am cooking impaired.

Kat: You're not cooking impaired, just not experienced per se. But no need to fear! Because an Asian is here, aru!

Pandas: Pfft, superhero rhyme.

Kat: What, I thought that Americans were obsessed with superheroes.

Pandas: I AM HALF BRITISH, WOMAN. ONTO THE STORY.

* * *

><p>The two merged groups followed America, not because they felt hungry after seeing corpses try and eat their faces but because Italy was so enthusiastic about it. He skipped down the street after America and sang about pasta, eager to get to a kitchen and cook with the questionably obtained ingredients. Or at least he tried to skip. The pot on his head was making it difficult.<p>

Germany wanted to get back to the meeting hall as soon as possible to regroup with the others, but the zombie horde sounded formidable. From the description it was idiotic to try and fight through and it was a better idea to wait for them to disperse while they were eating. Anyway, Italy looked so happy and Germany didn't want to change that.

Looking at the sword that England had shoved into his hands, France studied the intricate carvings in the blade. His eyes traveled to the other similar weapon England was carrying and he saw small differences in the symbols that he hadn't noticed before. More obvious though were the hilts. England's was green and brown and it's guard looked like a leaf. France's was blue however, not brightly colored but blue nonetheless, and the guard flowed back delicately to protect his hand. It was a beautiful weapon, and France raised the blade to have a closer look.

"What are you doing, frog?" asked England, irritated.

"I am simply looking at this sword you gave me, _rosbif_," answered France, not looking at him.

"I didn't give that to you, you bloody frog, I just lent it!"

"Then why did you lend it to me if you won't let me look at it?"

"What kind of a question is that? I lent it to you because of the zombies trying to eat us, if you don't remember."

"Why didn't you just give it to someone else then?"

"Because you were the only person in the room who could use it, you prat," England said, glaring. "America has favored guns all his life so he can't handle them well and Russia had his pipe already."

"The hero can handle any weapon!" America interjected, laughing loudly. "Nothing is too hard! Your swords are lame though, so I wouldn't use it anyway!"

"You bloody moron, my swords are wonderful!" yelled England.

"No they're not, dude. Swords are old and lame!"

"Ve~ America, what street do we go down now?" asked Italy before England could scold the nation more. America ran laughing again to the front of the group and started guiding everyone again, much to the annoyance of a certain Englishman.

Surprisingly, no zombies were encountered on their way to the restaurant at all. When they got there, America insisted on sneaking in to investigate before everyone else, and a few minutes later he waved everyone inside. Italy dashed past him into the kitchen and Romano joined him, and behind France tried to follow with that gleam in his eyes until he was yanked harshly back by England. However, America pushed open the door and declared that he was guarding the Italians as they made food.

Russia dropped onto one of the wooden chairs and hid his pipe again in his clothing. Many others followed suit, England snatching the blue sword back and laying both on an unoccupied table. After that, a silence descended on all of them. Canada tried to chat nervously, but he wasn't heard.

Inside the gigantic kitchen the Italians still in their cookery armor dashed about, Romano cursing when he couldn't find what he wanted. America stood awkwardly, not used to this type of cooking, until Romano crashed into him and yelled at him to move, then said some other less than complementary things in Italian. After that he sat on part of the counter they weren't using but still received a stream of Italian curses for it whenever Romano had to pass by him. Italy just smiled as he went about cooking, in his own little happy bubble filled with pasta and cats.

"Sooo," started America to break the silence. "What are you making?"

"Pasta, ve~. There was already some that had been drying here so we're just boiling it. There was sauce too so we're going to use that. We're actually almost done, ve~."

"Oh, cool. I thought cooking took forever."

"Usually it does, but there's already all this made. It doesn't look too bad either, ve~."

"Huh," said America, ending the conversation. The Italians worked their incomprehensible magic in the kitchen that the American, let alone a certain lowly British Scottish/American, could never understand.

Soon the Italians burst out of the kitchen with the plates of food, and by some miracle even remembered to serve a certain Canadian. The silence was finally broken when the bubbly Italian came into the room, and smalltalk was made by the eating nations. Nothing particularly important was discussed, and they all sat feeling the weight of the subject not mentioned on their shoulders.

* * *

><p>Pandas: Sorry this is so short, it will change when we move to Sundays!<p>

Kat: Mmm... this is tempting me to make food. ^^

Pandas: I like food. I just don't like being called to eat food while I'm trying to WRITE, GODDAMMIT MOM. :( Also, we keep forgetting to thank the anons who review, and I'm sorry that we haven't given you any love. THANK YOU ANONS. FOREVER. I LOVE ALL WHO READ THIS, ESPECIALLY REVIEWERS! ALSO FAVORITERS (?) AND ALERTERS (?)!

Kat: Yes, thank you everyone who has been keeping up with our story and reviewing. ^^ I think that Pandas has covered most of the love... But anyway, love you peoples! And I don't care if I am not grammatically correct right now, I just love all of you out there in the world!


	7. Chapter 7

Author's Notes:  
>KittyKat2583: And here is the second half of Prussia's chapter. Sorry for making you wait, but at least it's here.<br>Pandas: Yeah! We are now on Sundays! Also, don't steal potato chips! The karmapus will get you!  
>Kat: I like cats, I like every kind of cat. And I want them in a basket, with little bow ties~<br>Pandas: What? I was talking about potato chips and karma octopus, aka karmapus. I said nothing about cats.  
>Kat: Oh, when I hear "-pus" I think of cats.<br>Pandas: Hehe, I think of octopus ^^. A pink octopus with its wonderful undersea friends.  
>Kat: Ufufufu. The story continues~<p>

* * *

><p>"I'm hungry. Why couldn't we have stopped for food on the first floor?" Prussia complained as they went up the stairs.<p>

"Didn't you eat breakfast before we left for the meeting?" Austria said, getting more and more frustrated at Prussia.

"_Ja_, but I got hungry after fighting those things."

"Would you quit being so annoying? We can get something to eat after we get our weapons." Hungary told him.

"Kesese. You can't change my awesome appetite!"

Hungary sighed before she strode down the hallway. As she walked, she began searching through her dress for something. Austria was about to question Hungary's actions until she finally found the small silver flashlight. She flicked it on and the tiny beam of light softly illuminated the dark halls. She left the two alone and went inside her room. Austria gave Prussia a scowl before retreating to his room. Both doors shut, leaving Prussia by himself in the halls.

"And I'm alone again... Perfect..." Prussia walked off to his room and didn't bother to close his door behind him. He took his suitcase out from under his bed and unzipped it to reveal a magnificent and ancient sword lying on top of messily folded clothing. It looked like the one from his Teutonic Knight years, but it was more suitable for his size now than it was from when he was a teen. The hilt was made of some sort of metal, probably iron, and had a small metal octagon at the end with the Teutonic cross engraved into it. The blade itself was slender and nineteen inches in length.

Prussia was admiring his sword when he felt an unnatural presence behind him. He whirled around to find himself facing a zombie. The zombie's long blond hair hung lifelessly to its waist and bite marks marred its neck and arms, leaving small streams of blood trickling from the broken skin. Its dead eyes stared back at Prussia as it mindlessly lumbered forward to attack. Prussia leapt back with a shout of, "Shit!" and slashed at the creature's head. The zombie froze, then its head slowly slid off of its body and it all fell to the ground.

Austria and Hungary rushed through the door to try and help him, but saw that he had already taken care of the problem. A certain Austrian didn't bring a weapon with him to America, so he improvised with a flute, and Hungary only brought a frying pan. Hungary eyed the dead zombie with slight disgust. "Nice..." she commented.

"Kesese. Too bad for her, though. I guess that she would have been pretty cute if she were alive." Hungary rolled her eyes at this. "But I'm still hungry." Prussia whined.

Austria sighed. "Alright, we'll go get something to eat now. What do you want?"

"SAUSAGE!" Prussia raced out of the room and down the stairs to the first floor.

"Well I guess that solves that problem now." Austria sighed and followed the Prussian with Hungary. When they found Prussia in one of the restaurants, Prussia was shoveling forkfuls of eggs, hash browns, and sausages into his mouth. Austria face palmed and Hungary went over to drag Prussia away from the table.

"Hey! I wasn't finished!"

"We don't have time to eat. We still have to get back to the meeting hall." Hungary tugged at Prussia's shirt collar and towed him out to the inn's entrance.

"But I still didn't get my wurst!"

"Would you rather stay and probably end up getting eaten by zombies or go to a safe place with the other nations?"

"Fine. Let's go," Prussia said grudgingly.

The trio rushed out of the hotel and nearly ran straight into a horde of zombies. They didn't know, but it was the same one that America's group had encountered. Their eyes slowly turned to the nations, deep bellows coming from their chests. "Fuck yeah! I get to fight more zombies!" Prussia said, and Austria shot him a glare for his language. "Oh c'mon. Stop being such an old man!"

Prussia ran straight towards the group and started slashing madly at the zombies. The decapitated ones dropped to the ground. Hungary shrugged before leaping at the undead and banging her pan on the zombies' heads. Prussia swiftly lunged and stabbed at the undead. Austria finally joined in the fight and struck his flute down upon the zombies. The three worked quickly to kill the horde. A zombie lunged at Hungary, who was fast in smashing its skull in on itself. Unfortunately, it was the last time that Hungary could use that pan, as the handle broke away, making it useless. "Shit!" she grunted.

Austria batted his flute at the zombies closest to him. Prussia was having too much fun using his melee skills to kill the oncoming zombies. He plunged the sword into the creature's eye and thrust it into its brain. In a few minutes, nothing was left of the horde except for the carcasses of them. Prussia yanked his sword out of the corpse and wiped it clean on its tattered shirt.

"Kesesese. Those zombies are no match for the awesome me!" Prussia saw Hungary's broken pan. "Yes! It's about time that thing broke! Now you can't hit me with that freaking pan anymore! Kesesese~"

Hungary growled at Prussia's mocking, but stopped when she saw a sidewalk scraper in a hardware store's display case. She picked up a reasonably large stone and hurled it at the glass, causing it to shatter into a million slivers. Hungary jogged to the display case, took the sidewalk scraper out of its stand, and turned to Prussia, who would have his tail between his legs if he were a dog. "Prussia~ Could you come over here?" Hungary said in a sing-song voice.

"Shit. We'll... if you don't mind... I'm... just... gonna..." Prussia whirled around and sprinted away from Hungary, who started chasing after him.

"GET BACK HERE! PRUSSIA!"

"Mein Gott," Austria sighed and started to walk after the two back to the meeting hall.

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><p>Pandas: Review please 3<br>Kat: Please~ Por favore~ S'il vous plait~


	8. Chapter 8

Pandas: Before we start, do any of you people know how to fix sound? It isn't working on Google Chrome or Firefox for me, so I have had to crawl back to Internet Explorer T.T Internet Explorer is...arghhhhhhh. But anyway, let us move onto the story telling, da?

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><p>America, who had been sitting at a table alone, stood up after eating. He then kicked the small table over, making the other nations start and their eyes dart towards him. The glasses and plates smashed to the floor and the table cover was pulled off and onto the ground.<p>

"What the bloody hell are you doing, America?" asked England, his eyebrows furrowed. The country ignored him and instead ripped off the leg of the table, quite an easy feat for him. The part previously attached to the top splintered and cracked somewhat, and the other end was spread out to keep the table sturdy. America held it quite easily and practiced swinging it a few times, imagining splattering zombie brains with every strike.

"This is my weapon for now!" America declared, grinning. "The hero needs weapons to fight the bad guys, after all!"

"That is a table leg," said England.

"Doesn't mean I can't bash in zombie heads with it!"

England looked like he was about to reply when Russia said "That means everyone has a weapon, da?"

"I don't," said Canada quietly. America seemed to be the only one to hear him.

"Well find one then, before we leave!" he said enthusiastically. "Look around!"

"I just said we all had weapons, America. What is it that you want us to find?"

"I was talking to Canada, commie! C'mon, Canada, the hero will find you a weapon in the kitchen!" America dragged of his northern brother in his heroic quest.

The other nations decided to prepare themselves, and much clanking came from the Italies when they were adjusting their armor. Russia pulled out his pipe and Spain picked up his axe. France reached for the blue hilted sword but England snatched it before he could grab it.

"I just lent this to you, frog. Find another weapon."

"England," France began. "You cannot possibly be thinking that you can use both swords by yourself. Why not lend it to me a while longer, _parceque_ I will not swing around a table leg like a maniac."

"No. I made these swords with magic, something you don't appreciate. You don't even believe in the fair folk. I won't let you use this if you won't even try to use it right."

"Okay, fine," said France, disbelieving and condescending. "What does the sword do that's so special?"

Glaring, England answered, "It is a water element sword. If you use it right you can heal people and use water sources to cut down more enemies."

"Ve, that sounds like some kind of game from Japan's house," Italy commented.

"It's not a game. None of you believe me, do you? Even when there are zombies outside you still don't believe in magic at all!"

"Zombies aren't magic!" yelled America, coming back with Canada in tow. He was clutching a pizza paddle, the kind of thing you would remove pizza from the oven with. It was entirely wood and sturdily built, so it had the potential to take out many zombies. "Zombies are zombies!" continued his brother.

"How do you think they were reanimated, then? I didn't think to mention it before but it's highly likely that someone is behind this and started it all with magic!"

"So someone could be doing this on purpose?" asked Russia.

"No commie, zombies just...happen!"

"Why would they just happen then if someone doesn't start it all?" asked England, exasperated.

"Because of...bad burials or whatever! Cursed graveyards and stuff!"

"That's not how it works! Why would it all just instantly start now? Besides, if there was a cursed graveyard then there would have had to be a person who cursed it!"

"But magic is fairies and unicorns and Harry Potter! Zombies aren't all nice and stuff!"

"You seem to have the wrong impression of the fair folk. I only talk to the kind ones, but there are ones that would drown you and eat your flesh if you ran into them!"

"Well, whatever! Zombies are too cool to be made by magic!"

"They were, you tosser!"

"Shut up!" yelled Germany. "We can discuss this later when we've met up with everyone else! Now we should go to the meeting hall since everyone is ready! And England, give France the sword!"

Frowning, England complied with Germany and handed the sword over. The nations then proceeded outside and the large group walked down the street in silence, watching out for any zombies.

England was determined to use his sword's special power and prove magic was real when he saw an enemy, but there were none to be seen. A few zombies that had been killed littered the streets, but beside that there was nothing. They reached the meeting hall safely and entered the building, sitting down to wait for the rest of the nations.

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><p>Pandas: I would love you forever if you reviewed.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

(Note: written after all the stuff below but more important) Pandas: I'm sorry this is late, it's my fault. I didn't have time to review and clear the chapter for publishing for Sunday because my mom was in the hospital because her heart stopped working right. That coupled with Christmas and this chapter wasn't a priority this week. I'm really sorry and it's my fault that this was late. (End of Note)  
>KittyKat2583: Here's a little present for all you dear readers. Well, not really, but it's Christmas. Happy Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanza, Happy New Year, Happy Festivuz, etc. Happy Holidays! Also, here's some of that PruCan for fallendeHimmel since you've been asking. ^^ Happy (I don't care if i live in America, im not going to say "Merry") Christmas!<br>Pandas: My dear friend, you forgot to mention the solstice!  
>Kat: I thought that it wasn't a celebrated thing in America... But I know that it's a time where the Chinese make these dough balls and eat them with soup. And we give some as an offering to our ancestors too at the alter ^^<br>Pandas: Also, the pagans. I know two people who celebrated it with paganism and joy~  
>Kat: Ufufufufu. Ah, the wonderful world of paganism~ Anywho, the story continues~<p>

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><p>"Fuck, what did I do?" Prussia said to himself as he ran away from Hungary, who was a few blocks behind him. He turned into a blind corner and smacked into something solid and sent him and the other person toppling onto the pavement. Prussia looked to see what he ran into.<p>

Underneath him was a man whose glasses were slightly askew from the impact and whose blond hair with a peculiar curl fanned out on the sidewalk. Their faces were inches apart and the younger flushed as Prussia locked eyes with him. He clutched a small polar bear, which was the only thing separating Prussia and him. The older man got up quickly and helped him get on his feet.

"Hey, sorry about that. I didn't see you before." Prussia apologized.

"It's okay. I've gotten used to it." Canada sighed.

"But still, the awesome me is sorry. What's your name?" Prussia looked over the northern nation, and suddenly the thought occurred to him that this man he didn't recognize was cute.

"I'm Canada, and this is Mr. Kumajiko, my polar bear," he answered timidly.

"Uh, hello? We were here too, y'know." America announced, irritated at being unnoticed. Canada started to blush an even deeper shade of red, and Prussia finally realized that the other man wasn't the only one there. The rest of the group had stood there awkwardly, watching the scene. And then England smacked America's head and lectured him on using nonexistent and slang words in his speech.

"Hello, Prussia." Germany gave him a small wave, while Italy looked a bit like a maniac with his flails of hellos.

"Oh! People I know! Awesome! Not as awesome as me, but still. Well I have to go before Hungary chops my awesome head off, so bye!" Prussia turned to leave, but Canada caught his arm.

"Wait. Maybe you could come with us to the meeting hall? Please?" Canada asked Prussia.

"Hmm. Sure, why not? I just don't want to be murdered by that unawesome bitch," Prussia replied, looking over his shoulder to make sure that Hungary wasn't in sight.

"Hahaha. C'mon you guys. Let's go! And the hero will lead the way!" America ran off to the direction of the meeting hall.

"You git! Stop being so loud," England shouted after America. He chased after him, and the others followed suit.

"No offense, but your brother is annoying." Prussia said to Canada.

Canada sighed. "Yes, yes he is."

When they reached the meeting hall jogging after America, one of the groups had already arrived. China, Japan, Switzerland and Liechtenstein had been waiting for the others to come so that they could make up a strategy to defeat the zombies. China was the first to notice the others in the room.

"You kept us waiting long enough, aru. I'm not getting any younger, aru. I don't want to become any older than I am now, aru." Obviously, China was a bit impatient.

"Hahaha. China's old," America laughed.

"I am not, aru! And now that you're here, America, that reminds me, aru. Your folklore is so confusing, aru. You should make a clear difference between zombies and vampires, aru."

"They're not confusing, dude. Maybe it's just you."

China did not take kindly to this insult, and started cussing out America in Chinese. This led to a kung-fu battle between these two nations, and chaos ensued in the room. England, France and Russia tried to hold back America, while Spain and Japan restrained China. Switzerland kept Liechtenstein from the midst of it all, and the Italies were hiding under the table of the room, Italy trying to cling to his brother as Romano shrugged him off. Germany was losing his temper, which was apparent in the grinding of his teeth.

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP! THIS IS GETTING US NOWHERE!" Germany shouted, causing all eyes to look upon him. "Now then, we should all stop arguing and work together, or else we'll all be killed. We just have to wait for Austria and Hungary to get here."  
>As if on cue, Hungary and Austria strolled into the room. Hungary waved "hi" to everyone and joined the group. Prussia was relieved that Hungary seemed to have gotten over his previous behavior.<p>

"Well now that everyone is here," Germany started, "we still need to think of a plan. Does anyone have any ideas?"

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><p>Please review~ ^^ Reviews=Love xD<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

Pandas: Hello and welcome to the next chapter and the new year! ^^

Kat: Hahaha it's not New Year...

Pandas: It's the first day of the new year, Kat.

Kat: But New Year's Day/Week starts January 23rd this year.

Pandas: You are talking about Chinese New Year, aren't you?

Kat: Hahaha. What other New Year is there?

Pandas: The one we celebrated midnight yesterday. I drank champagne. I also had a bloody hangover. A mild one but still. I've had worse from caffeine hangovers. Do not drink five gigantic mugs of tea in one day, kids.

Kat: But it's not even the start of a new lunar cycle yet...

Pandas: But it is now 2012.

Kat: But it's gonna be year 4710 on the 23rd. lol (not at China) This explains China's age.

Pandas:The western world wants to be different and lie about their ages.

Kat: Ehh? Lying is not a respectable trait, aru.

Pandas: Da.

Kat: So...think we should end the a/n?

Pandas: Yep.

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><p>Germany looked out on the other nations, waiting for something to be suggested. The other countries looked as if they had no ideas, and they sat in silence, thinking, until America decided to suddenly ask, "Hey Liechtenstein, what's wrong with your eye?"<p>

Switzerland glared at him as she answered, "Oh, it's nothing, it's just been hurting for a while."

"Can you open it?" asked America. "Maybe something is wrong or something."

Lichtenstein had kept her eye closed up till that time, saying it hurt to much to open, but now they all watched with horror as, wincing, her eyelids seperated. The eye was dead, dull, and lifeless, like those of the zombies outside. It looked wrong in her still living skull, misplaced. Timidly, she asked what was the matter, but they did not have the heart or the stomach to answer.

Switzerland was wide eyed, barely able to comprehend what was wrong with his little sister. How had this happened? She was acting fine.

"Big brother, what's wrong?" she asked, becoming scared of the answer. Wordlessly, France handed over his mirror and Liechtenstein saw her ailment. She squeaked and dropped it, but thankfully his mirror didn't shatter.

"What is going on here, aru?" asked China. From what he knew of strange western 'zombies', you only turned into one if you were bitten. So what happened to Liechtenstein?

England suddenly realized what had happened. He had a pain in his left side that he previously thought was a stitch from running from zombies, but no, he now knew it was more serious than that.

He slowly lifted up his shirt and what he saw made his stomach turn. He gasped, staring down at his rotting side and the white of his lower ribcage poking through. The skin was an unnatural greenish black color near the edges.

His hand flew to his mouth and he quickly dropped the material, the other nations staring at him. England slowly opened his mouth, meeting the gaze of the others.

"This...we all have it. We're all rotting. It..it's probably because we're nations. The zombies still count as our citizens, apparently. We...shit, this doesn't stop, we'll all become the living dead."

The room was silent for a minute, the weight of that statement hanging in the air, filling their lungs and choking them.

"Англия, did you not say before that this was most likely caused by magic? If so, is there some way you could reverse it?" Russia asked.

"No, I don't usually have to combat masses of undead so I don't remember any spells to do so. They're all in my spell book but that went missing from my hotel room...it was this morning, actually, wasn't it? Anyway, even if I did have it, if I didn't know what spell was used to start this it would still be difficult to stop them. However, it would boost the power of my magic a little."

"So, basically," America said, "you're useless."

"I am not useless, you git! I still have my swords and many spells memorized, and I know how to fight!"

"Whatever. But where could that book have gone? If you think it'd be so useful, and since we have nothing better to do but to sit around and wait to turn into zombies, we could look around for it."

"I have no idea where it is. I looked everywhere. The only thing I can think of is that it was stolen."

"So, wait, your book is missing and the zombies started appearing around that time and someone probably started this. This sounds like someone is trying to kill us all and the world on purpose!" America said. "Some bad guy is trying to have the apocalypse! As the hero of the world, I have to find him and stop his evil deeds!"

"America?" Canada started timidly, but he wasn't heard over his loud laughter.

"England," said Switzerland, his eyes serious and trying to mask his worry, "Do you have any idea of what person that knows of your book would want to do this?" The man shook his head.

America moved off from the main group as England began listing every living person who knew he practiced magic. A red box on the wall next to a fire hydrant with a clear glass cover had caught his eye. Inside was a hose and a long ax with red edges on its head.

Without hesitation, he hefted his table leg and swung it at the glass. It shattered into a million pieces, the glittering shards littering the floor. As soon as it had been broken, a loud, screeching alarm went off, assaulting the ears of the nations. America ignored it and reached in, hands closing around his new weapon.

"America, you idiot, what the bloody hell are you doing?" England yelled over the wail of the alarm. The younger nation grinned and held up the ax, dropping the leg of the table.

"This weapon is much better!" he yelled back.

"Dammit, America, all the zombies will come here now, what the hell is wrong with you?"

America hadn't thought of that. Suddenly, there was more glass breaking and zombies stumbled in, reaching out for their potential meals.

The nations froze, mouths dropping open as they realized they recognized them. There was a short man with indigo eyes that used to be so innocent, now uncaring and cold as he stumbled forward next to a much taller man who's gaze was still intimidating even when he was dead. A spiky headed individual was nearby, and there was also a shorter man with silver hair and another with a curl behind them. The Nordics had not made it back to their hotel room.

America recovered from the shock and lifted his ax to strike the Sweden-zombie, but England shouted, "No, you idiot!" He pulled the other nation back with as much force as he could, stopping him from destroying the zombie's head.

"Everyone, just run!" yelled England, trying to drag America away. The other nations begrudgingly complied, turning and sprinting for the exit.

"Why wouldn't you let me kill it?" asked America, confused. "It's not Sweden anymore."

"We don't know if it's not!" yelled England. "With humans, when they're dead they're dead, but with nations it's more complicated! Poland has come back to life before, so there is a slight chance they can too and we shouldn't risk it by causing them any more harm!"

America frowned but kept running, and soon they found the exit which was unfortunately swarmed by zombies drawn by the scream of the alarm. The large group beat their way through the gathering crowd and ran, trying to find a place for shelter.

A few followed them but most stayed behind, more concerned with the loud noises. America had everyone follow him, saying he knew a place they could stay for a while.

Finally they reached an old, plain looking building that looked like no one had gone in for years. The heavy metal doors and the bars on the windows were rusting and it creaked when America pried one open.

"America," England started, "Is this...a jail?"

"An old, abandoned one!" Alfred laughed. "Welcome to your new home!"

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><p>Pandas: Reviews make adorable kittens yawn~<p>

Англия = England


	11. Chapter 11

Kat: The time I hate most is the handful of days before and after the Winter Solstice, because they're always so cold. -.-'  
>Pandas: Coldness is sad. In other news, I'm going to shamelessly advertise my other, new fic! I would really appreciate it if some of you guys checked it out. I know it has an oc, but he's a plot device and I worked hard to make him~! This fic still is the most important though, the updates on the other are sporadic.<br>Kat: I highly recommend reading it, though~ It's awesome! A true work of art Pandas ^^  
>Pandas: Thank you! I decided to write it instead of my English essay~! I think I failed on that T.T Oh well, writing stories is better than writing essays, there is no creativity in analysis.<br>Kat: Don't forget to tell them the name of the fic~  
>Pandas: Right! It's called Should Have Ignored the Goddamn Alien, I would love you forever if you guys gave it a chance~!<br>Kat: And maybe get a cookie~ Hopefully... If it's not there, use your imagination haha  
>Pandas: Seriously you guys, please go look at it!<br>Kat: When you finish reading this, read SHITGA~ Seriously, it's, like, totally amazing~  
>Pandas: Thank you ^^ Now, onto this story~!<p>

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><p>A heavy silence settled in the air before France made an objection. "I am not going to live in there when I have to see England's ugly face all day."<p>

"Shut up, wine bastard! I was going to say the same about you," England said. France was just about to begin with the witty banter but was interrupted by Germany.

"Can't you two forget about your differences for even a minute? In case you have forgotten, we were being chased by a horde of zombies. Unless you want to end up like the Nordics, just get in the goddamn building already!" This had silenced the two and the group filed into the prison without another word.

Inside was dark and dirty, the once white walls and ceilings crumbling to dust onto the dirt covered floor. America shoved the protesting metal door closed, and then waved the others further inside. Cells lined the single hall, all with the doors wide open. Inside each cell was a wooden shelf that would previously be used to make a bed, an old rusted toilet, and a single barred window showing the outside.

"Yo, can someone find a light switch? It's too dark for the awesome me to see," Prussia complained.

"Prussia," Liechtentein said quietly, "since this prison had been abandoned for years, I don't think that the lights would work because the power company would stop sending it here."

"Maybe we should look for some candles and flashlights then, _sí_?" Spain suggested.

"Yeah. Tomato bastard and I'll go look for some," said Romano, who fished for the mini flashlight he had in his pocket.

"Mkay, dudes," said America as he also got his small flashlight, "So, what do y'all think?" He shined the light around the dimensions of the building. The nations surveyed the area, trying to take it in.

"Er... At least the windows are barred, aru." China said. America beamed.

"That's exactly why I picked this old place. There's no way any zombies could break in here. Hahahaha."

"Wow, America. You actually use your brain to think?" England's voice was practically dripping with sarcasm.

"Hey! Of course I do!" said America, who was slightly offended. "How else do you think that I come up with such amazing ideas for the meetings?"

"Mhmm. Yeah. Sure." England had tuned out America.

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><p>"This place is filthy," Germany complained, "I'm going to go clean." He walked away from the group to find the supplies closet.<p>

"I'll help you with that, _Doitsu-san_." Japan offered. Italy noticed that he was alone and jogged after the two. Well, if you call him walking along on the track during his training with Germany jogging, that works too.

"Ve. Don't leave me alone, Germany. Japan?"

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><p>"The awesome me is hungry," Prussia whined.<p>

"Again?" Hungary asked incredulously. "You just ate before we left the inn."

"You didn't let the awesome me finish!"

"Then go find something to eat instead of complaining to us." Austria started to scold Prussia.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, old man. I'm going." Prussia said as he stalked off to find the kitchen when he suddenly noticed Canada.

"Yo, Canada! Wanna help me find the kitchen?"

Canada, who always had trouble with the word 'no', said, "Sure... Why not." Prussia grabbed his arm and dragged Canada to the kitchen. Once there, Prussia rushed towards the cabinets, stomach growling, and flung them open violently. His brain didn't want to believe what he saw, but instead of there being stacks of food inside, it was empty and bare. He desperately searched for any morsel he could find, but no matter how hard he looked there was nothing.

"_Scheiße_," cursed Prussia. "We might have to go and raid a nearby supermarket to get food. I'm going to bring Switzerland with us." They went out of the kitchen and found Switzerland talking quietly to Liechtenstein. "Yo, Switzerland! We're going on a food raid and we need more people to go with us. You gonna come?"

The other nation swung his head around and said, "Why don't you ask Germany? I'm talking to my sister."

Liechtenstein, sensing his reluctance to leave her while she was visibly injured, told him softly, "I can talk to the others for a while, big brother, so you can go and help them." Honestly, she wanted to go as well, but it would only make him worry.

"But Liechtenstein, who's going to take care of you and your eye?"

"I'll stay with Miss Hungary while you're gone," said Liechtenstein, knowing that Switzerland was still uneasy about leaving her, "You should go with them so that we can all have some food when you're back."

"Ok," said Switzerland hesitantly, "but be safe."

Liechtenstein nodded her head. "I will, big brother."

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><p>Nearby, France sank down into a vacant chair. He sighed in exhaustion, tired with the whole zombie incident. "<em>Je suis très fatigué.<em>"

"Yes, you are fatty gay." England remarked.

"Hey, what is that supposed to mean?" France said.

"Well, you flirt with every single person you set your eyes upon, male or female."

"I only flirt with beautiful people, and I never flirt with you." France rose from his chair a bit.

"Are you implying something, Frog?"

"No, nothing at all. I'm only saying that you have terrible looks. And while I'm at it, your huge eyebrows make it look you're growing giant caterpillars on your face."

"You want to say that again, France?"

"Yes, I actually do _sourcils_," France said as he stood up from the chair and tried to put England's head into a headlock.

"Both of you cut it out!" Germany yelled at the two. They paused in their actions and glanced up at the raging German.

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><p>Kat: God, fitting this story into my 'preparations for Chinese New Year' schedule is hard.<br>Pandas: Aha, I wasn't good at helping you either and I apologise. also, REVIEW.  
>Kat: Mmm.. yeah what she said. And good night even though it will probably be morning by the time you read this. See you next time~<br>Pandas: Yeah! Also, please read SHITGDA! ^^ 3  
>Kat: Haha, shameless advertising, reminds me of this thing at Anime Club, but you probably weren't there. Anyway, read and review~<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Pandas: So, this chapter I decided to write FrUK because I can! ^^

Kat: Hahaha. Igirisu, aru.

Pandas: Is confused.

Kat: Sumimasen.

Pandas: Tis ok.

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><p>"Both of you cut it out!" yelled Germany, looking spectacularly annoyed. His head was poking out of one of the cells where he had been cleaning. "Instead of trying to murder each other, do something useful!"<p>

"Germany," England started, but the man had already disappeared back inside the cell, yelling at Italy to stop slacking off.

"Actually, you guys!" started America after a brief pause. "You can help with something! Can you go look for the mattresses to put on the plank thingies? 'Cause, like, we need something to sleep on other than wood, ya know?"

"I'm not going to find anything with the frog," stated England plainly.

"I feel the same way about you, _sourcils_," France said, his tone much more light and carefree.

"Oh, c'mon, you guys, everyone else is helping!"

England snorted. "What're you doing then?" he asked, raising one large eyebrow.

"Isn't it obvious?" the younger nation asked. "I'm protecting everyone from the villain!" he declared, pointing a finger at Russia. You could feel the annoyance rolling off the intimidating nation in waves, even though his smile remained plastered to his face.

"For now, America, are we not on the same side?"

The other nations decided to make themselves scarce in case a fight broke out, and France and England ended up going to find the things together anyway.

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><p>The prison was one story tall but was a decent size, with other hallways of cells branching off at regular intervals. Everything that wasn't a cell was in the back of the building, like the kitchen and storage.<p>

The two nations peeked in the various doors, looking for the padded sleeping mats that most definitely weren't mattresses but would provide some comfort. They found the graying things stacked in crates in a nondescript room, covered in dust like everything else in the abandoned prison.

England frowned at the things, wishing for a soft bed instead of these lumpy useless pads. As staring did not make them turn into something more desirable to sleep on, he sighed and picked up a few, moving to take them back to the others. France had a different idea, grabbing him while avoiding touching the place he knew was rotting. England dropped the mat things out of surprise as he was dragged farther away from the door.

Suddenly it occurred to him that he was alone with the most perverted nation on the planet and the nearest help was through a strong prison door and down a very long hallway. He struggled in the frog's grip but was pushed against the crates, the Frenchman's arms holding him in place. He was surprised, however, to find that instead of a lecherous grin there was a look of concern on the other man's face.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" He asked, glancing at the other man's side, where the rot was.

England blinked. "Why do you care?" he asked. "No doubt the same thing is happening to you, anyway, so be concerned with yourself." He tried to free himself but the other nation held him there tightly.

"Of course I care. How can I not?"

"What exactly do you mean by that?" said the other man, eyes guarded. He didn't know what France was trying to do here, but whatever the frog's goal was he wouldn't reach it.

The other man didn't answer, instead leaning down and capturing his lips. England's green eyes widened. He should have known this was the frog's plan, but why had he acted concerned? It didn't matter. The Brit shoved at France's chest, ignoring the sinking feeling that had formed after France's true motives were revealed.

"You bloody frog!" he yelled, bringing his sleeve up to his lips. His freedom from France's grip was short lived though, because in a second France had grabbed his wrists and was pressing his body back against the crate.

England struggled, glaring at his captor. It was strange, France still wasn't grinning like a cocky idiot. His eyes were instead filled with an emotion he couldn't place.

"England," he whispered in his ear. "I know that this is a terrible time to ask you this, but I have to ask now. England, if we get out of this alive, please let me take you out."

What? WHAT? First France was acting concerned, and now this? Not to mention that this is not what one should be thinking about while the world was overrun by zombies. But England found himself unwilling to say no. What was going on?

He opened his mouth to say something, anything, but at that moment France's lips brushed against his, his tongue slipping into the other's mouth. England's eyes widened as it brushed his own tongue, rubbing against it. It was strange, but he didn't want to push France away.

Just as his eyes were closing, the door swung open and China came in, holding some bandages. His eyes widened at the scene in front of him, and he almost dropped the supplies that he had come with to treat the rotten areas of the nations as best he could. He hadn't expected to find this at all. Instead he had been prepared for a fight to be going on when he was told France and England had gone off to get mattresses for America. He didn't think he'd find the two pressed against each other, tongues in each other's mouths.

England's eyes opened again as he heard the door and France pulled away, blue eyes looking towards the disturbance. The Chinese nation was staring at them, disbelieving. "Eh! Uh... I'm just going to... Aiyah! Bye, aru!" The nation turned and ran back down the hall.

"Wait, China!" England called after him, wrenching himself from France and running after the other nation. His cheeks were stained bright red with embarrassment. Oh god, what had he done?

France frowned and leaned on the crate of mats, sad that England had escaped him. The other nation hadn't been fighting him at all, either. But a grin spread slowly on his face as he thought of ways to get England all alone again.

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><p>Pandas: I 3 FrUK!<p>

Kat: I think that I've had enough FrUk until new years, aru...

Pandas: That's in...

Kat: Next week Monday

Pandas: Coolbeans. Then next week we have another shot of FrUK! ^^

Kat: Help me, Buddha...

Pandas: Ahaha, you innocent child ^^ also, REVIEW! I want to stop here and thank everyone who has reviewed this story so far.

THANK YOU.

WE LOVE YOU.

YOU ARE NEARLY AS AWESOME AS PRUSSIA.


	13. Chapter 13

Kat: 新年快樂! …Well almost, since it's on the 23rd this year. Also, I've noticed that we generally tend to write about people falling down in this fanfiction.  
>Pandas: We do?<br>Kat: Yeah, like in that PruCan scene, and America was going to fall on that zombie until Russia caught him.  
>Pandas: Oh yeah. But they are different types of falling, and there are 13 chapters and 3 instances of falling so it's not that much.<br>Kat: I guess, but falling is falling.  
>Pandas: Well, then, let us fall in to the next chapter~ Damn, that sounds corny. GODDAMMIT.<br>Kat: Yes we shall ^^ The story continues!~

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><p>"China, wait!" England ran after the Asian and tried to ignore the pain that his side was causing him. He increased his speed and was getting nearer to China. Once England was within a yard's range of the other nation, his legs pushed off the hard floor and he fell onto China. They were both sent tumbling down onto the concrete. China had landed onto his backside and ended up underneath England. The lightly blushing British nation sat back on China's legs while the Asian propped himself up on his elbows, frowning at him.<p>

"Aiyah. Let me go, aru." China said, trying to shove the nation off of him.

"Um, China, I...that wasn't..." England stammered.

"Wasn't what, aru? I saw you and France _kissing, _aru." China said to England, whose cheeks turn scarlet red in turn.

"But I...I...it's all that perverted frog's fault!"

China quirked his eyebrow. "I don't care about what you and France are up to. Now get the hell off of me, aru!"

"But..ah...um...please don't...tell the others," England mumbled, blushing furiously.

"Fine with me, aru. I just want to forget about what I saw, aru. Now can you get off of me, aru!"

"Oh, yes, of course," England said quickly, but before he could move he heard his name being called from down the hall.

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><p>"Ve~ Germany, this place sure is dusty." Italy observed as they entered one of the unused cell rooms of the prison. Thick layers of filth coated the objects of the chamber. The wooden boards were unrecognizable beneath the dirt and grime from over the years. Beneath their feet the concrete floor resembled some kind of furry animal's pelt from the buildup of dust. The place was depressing.<p>

"_Mein Gott._This place is a dump." Germany said. He grabbed a mop from the box of cleaning supplies that they had found and moved further into the room. He scrubbed down the floor with swift motions, all the while frowning at the grit that was still stubbornly clinging to the ground.

"I will help you, _Doitsu-san._" Japan held the feather duster in his hand and started to wipe the dust off of the wooden boards and the chains that held it to the wall.

"I'll help too!" So Italy reached for the old deck brush that they had found. He smiled when he felt the worn out wood of the handle. The object had reminded him about his childhood days of when he used to live in Holy Rome's house. He took the broom from the box and started sweeping at the dust. Each of the three diligently worked at their task for while until Italy finally had enough of the dust. A great sneeze erupted from Italy, causing the others to stop their work and glance over at him.

"Are you alright, _Itaria-kun_?" Japan had a concerned look for his ally.

"I'm fine, Japan. It's just that there's so much dust in here. ACHOO!" Italy sniffled a bit.

"Italy, maybe you should take a break." Germany suggested.

"Ve? But I want to help Germany and Japan." Italy whined.

"We're fine here, Italy," Germany said, and Japan nodded his head in agreement. "You can go and help out other people. I'm not sure if you can sweep with all of this dust. Maybe you can go and help some of the other nations."

"Hmm? Um, ok. Maybe I can go and play with Hungary and Austria!" Italy dropped the push broom and went in search of said nations.

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><p>Kat: I don't like it how I'm always compelled to say "aru" after writing China, aru. -.-'<br>Pandas: Ahaha, poor Kat. I also want to say that the past few chapters are just a lull, relationship building and such before moving back into the world of zombies! ^^ Fear not, soon they will be back out and fighting for their lives! Not next chapter though, probably the one after that.  
>Kat: Anyways, Happy Chinese New Year! Even to those of you who don't celebrate it. And please read and review~ Thanks ^^<br>Pandas: Yeah! ^^  
>Kat: Happy Holidays!<p> 


	14. Chapter 14

Pandas: Hello, dear reader!We shall open maybe a half an hour earlier (I dunno, I'm terrible with time) than the previous chapter with Spain and Romano looking for candles and flashlights. Now that I mention it, I realize that I have failed to mention that it is dreadfully gloomy in the prison T.T  
>Kat: Haha nice xD But yeah, prisons usually have a gloomy aura.<br>Pandas: Yep. Also, have I mentioned how awesome and fun it is to write Romano? Yay, cursing galore! ^^ Another thing, all my romance scenes are happening around crates...strange. Maybe they are magical romance crates, and the prison shut down because there was simply too much lovemaking in the crate room.  
>Kat: … Er... Pasta?<br>Pandas: Quite. In other news, I think I should explain that it is my headcannon that countries refer to each other by their human names when they're really close, because I have not said it before...have I?

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><p>Romano swung the beam of his tiny flashlight around, making the shapes that were unclear in the darkness sharpen and become identifiable. Spain walked beside him, smiling as always even though there was the impending doom of horrible bloody zombie death right outside the walls. The younger nation scowled at him when he started to hum.<p>

"Shut the hell up tomato bastard, how the fuck am I supposed to find the goddamn lights?"

"Romano~ It's not nice to use bad language."

"Shut up, tomato bastard."

Romano flung open a door and went from the gloomy hallway into an equally gloomy room filled with nondescript crates. Hopefully, inside those were candles and flashlights to make everything more visible.

He reached into the crate and started to look through the contents, leaning over the side. Anything that wasn't useful was tossed onto the floor, and soon a pile was forming next to the foul mouthed Italian.

"Lovi~ You shouldn't throw all that around."

"Goddammit, tomato bastard, I'm looking for the flashlights!" He sent a glare his way and continued to look through the contents.

The room was silent for a few minutes, and then his forehead winkled in confusion as he pulled out a soft green turtle plushie. It was very simple, with only three colors; green for the shell and tan for the body, as well as two shining black plastic eyes. The whole thing was made of a furry type of material. "What the hell?"

"Aww, it's so cute!" Spain cried, his smile widening.

"Yeah, whatever, tomato bastard, but what the hell is it doing here?" Romano cast his eyes around inside the crate, looking for more plushie paraphernalia. Finding none, he looked at the toy staring innocently back at him.

"I don't know, but it's so cute! You're so lucky to have found it!"

Romano looked from the toy and then back to Spain, and his cheeks were tinted pink as he tossed the toy to the other man. "You can have it tomato bastard, I need to find flashlights anyway!" He started to look through the contents of the crate again as Spain looked at the toy in his hands, stunned.

Suddenly, his smile came back. "Lovi~ thank you so much!" He held the turtle in his hands, admiring it.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," said the faintly blushing nation.

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><p>Pandas: I am so sorry for how short this is and I know I promised to make chapters longer, I was just busy for the entire morning and my parents have decided I have to be in bed by 8...even though I'm 15. Yeah. Bye.<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

Pandas: Yo dudes, I was thinking that I should write a bonus chapter because the last one was terribly short and I had promised it wouldn't be. T.T So two chapters this week! (Also, does America sound like a stoner sometimes? T.T I think most of their dialogue is bad here, please forgive me! Also I know next to nothing about medicine.)

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><p>England looked up to see who was calling his name, startled to see America coming down the hall. The other nation looked confused while the Russian behind him continued smiling his usual creepy smile. "Why are you sitting on China?"<p>

England flushed a deeper at that question and stood abruptly, backing away from the nation still on the floor. As soon as he did, China climbed to his feet too, brushing himself off.

"There...there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this!" England exclaimed, readjusting his clothing. "I...fell." It was almost the truth. Somewhat.

"Yeah, well anyway, we came looking for China," he said, directing his gaze to the Asian nation. "So, dude, Hungary said you have bandages and stuff?"

Only now England realized how beat up both of the other nations looked. America's eye was beginning to swell and he placed his hand lightly over a tender spot on his arm. Russia was trying to hide it but was favoring one leg and he looked as if he had been punched in the face as well. Multiple times. There were other various small injuries all over them as well.

"What happened to you two?" he asked, startled. America grinned.

"I was fighting the villain," he said proudly. Russia turned his creepy up another notch.

"America, you idiot! What possessed you to do that, wanker?"

America pouted, unhappy to have the Englishman yelling at him. He could do what he wanted, he was the land of the free and the home of the brave!

"I can fight whoever I want. You're not the boss of me."

"Idiot. Save the violence for the zombies. Right now we have to work together, no matter how much we may not like it."

"C'mon, it's not even that serious, dude. I wouldn't have even looked for China if Hungary hadn't practically forced us to."

"That's not the point! If we fight each other the zombies will get us!"

Someone cleared his throat from down the other end of the hall. England turned around to find France leaning in the doorway of the room he left him in, a frown tugging down on the corners of his mouth. "Angleterre is correct; we should allow l'amor to bind us together."

"Woah, dude," America said, startled. "You never agree with England."

"The situation is unique," France said simply, pushing away from the wall and moving closer to the growing group. England bit the inside of his cheek and decided not to talk to him at all. Either he would be proved a hypocrite by fighting with the Frenchman or the pervert would try and kiss him again. He huffed and turned his eyes back to the rest of the group.

China had gathered up his dropped medical supplies and was now trying to get America to show him his arm. The other nation was refusing, saying that it was nothing and he would be fine, as he was the hero. He finally agreed when China threatened to stop lending him money.

Pulling off his suit jacket, America was about to show him that he was perfectly fine when he saw from the corner of his eye that his right bicep looked...strange. He turned to look at it fully and, though he would never admit it, he was nauseated at the sight. The muscle had been eaten through, and the exposed flesh was dyed dark red with dried blood, though underneath it was a sickly pale.

He couldn't tear his eyes away. England had said all of them had it but it was terrible seeing it in real life, eating away at you slowly. No one else could look away either until China broke the stillness by beginning to attempt to treat the wound. He started by cleaning it out with water the best he could, and then did some magic Chinese healing things and finally wrapped the wound to keep it clean.

He then ordered England to take the still somewhat stunned America's place, lifting up his shirt and doing the same for him that he had done for the younger nation. China concentrated as he worked, making sure that he did all he could for the other country.

The Asian then looked at France, trying to figure out where his affected area would be. "Where does it hurt, aru?" he asked.

France thought about it, and then looked suspiciously down at his leg. He rolled up his pants quickly, and was treated to an expected but still somewhat terrifying sight. On his calf was a gaping hole, his flesh being devoured by the...what was it to them? A disease? It didn't matter. There was a hole in his leg, and parts of his bone were exposed.

China knelt down and started looking after his wound, and for once the frog wasn't tempted to say anything perverted. This was terrible. How was he supposed to attract England when he had a zombie leg? He leaned against the wall and just stared off into space when China was done with him.

Next, and last, came Russia. The tall nation smiled down at the Asian when he was asked where the rot would be and asked back where China's was. The smaller nation frowned and then brushed back his hair, revealing small patch just in his hairline.

"Now you tell me where yours is, aru," said the Chinese nation.

"Yours is much smaller than the others's, da? I wonder if it has anything to do with your population density," the Russian said, ignoring China's command.

"Just tell him where it is!" exclaimed America.

Russia frowned and sighed, finally pulling down a bit of his scarf that had been a gift from his sister and revealing a patch on the side of his neck. China had to make him sit on the floor to reach it properly, and then he set about cleansing and wrapping it, diligent in his work.

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><p>Pandas: Yeah! This is for all of you, readers!<p> 


	16. Chapter 16

Kat: I'm learning Wing Chun! ^^ And so it's Valentines Day next week, which is also my big brother's birthday xD  
>Pandas: Awesomesauce.<br>Kat: Mhmm. Anyway, the story continues!

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><p>"<em>Mein Gott<em>, there's so many zombies out here," Prussia muttered. He and the others had stepped outside the prison doors, only to find hordes of zombies wondering aimlessly through the streets. A nearby figure caught sight of the group, and gave out a blood curdling scream, alerting the others. The mob all swiveled there heads to the disturbance, their mouths gaping like fish and blank looks plastered onto the decomposing flesh of their faces. The gang stalked towards the quartet, arms outstretched in front of them. "_Scheiße,_" Prussia cursed quietly. Canada took a few steps back from the crowding undead, fear etched into his face. His back soon hit the rough, brick wall of the jail. Knowing that they would soon have no other choice but to fight, Canada set Mr. Kumajirou on the ground.

"Get back into the building, Mr. Kumakia." Canada's voice was quivering.

The small polar bear rubbed his eye with his paw and looked up at the blond man. "Who are you?"

"I'm Canada! Please Mr. Kumagiri, go inside," Canada begged. The bear slowly got up, which very much irritated the young nation. Canada hurriedly picked up the animal, flung open the door, and shoved him into the prison. He gave one last glance towards his small friend before returning his attention to the surrounding enemies and pulling out his large pizza paddle.

"This is so not awesome. Now I have to fight when I'm hungry," Prussia complained.

"Stop being so whiny and act like a soldier," the angry Swiss man scolded, much to Prussia's annoyance. Nevertheless, Prussia unsheathed his sword and prepared to fight while Switzerland took out his rifle out of its holster.

"Feel my awesome wrath you freaking bastards!" Prussia charged at the advancing crowd with his sword held in a slashing position over his head.

"You idiot!" Switzerland yelled after Prussia, but he was too preoccupied with decapitating zombies to pay any mind to the blond. Switzerland sighed, giving up on the impulsive Prussian. He cocked his rifle and aimed at the nearest row of the undead, trying not to kill his comrade while he shot.

Canada stood off to the side, trying to avoid being in the midst of the battle, which wasn't working well for him because he was spotted by a few zombies. They hobbled over to him, their flesh still leaking small rivers of blood. One of the corpses faces lacked the skin, revealing all of the veins and tissue to anyone who laid eyes on it. Canada panicked, and swung the cooking utensil at the small horde. The zombies were knocked back a few metres from the impact. Some had landed on the ground while others had merely stumbled back to their feet. They had arisen and once more advanced towards Canada, who started to back away from them, holding the paddle like a shield.

To Canada's relief, Prussia swooped in and sliced through the throats of the corpses. He looked back to the blond and threw him a grinned, "The awesome me's got your back. Although, I think that it's more effective if you aim for their heads." Prussia once again ran off to slice more zombies. Canada stood watching his friend until something near him screamed bloody murder. Luckily, it was only Switzerland letting a bullet zoom through the skull of one of the zombies. The blood gushed out of the bullet wound and the zombie dropped to the ground with a thud.

Canada finally mustered up enough bravery to charge at one one the zombies. Once he was within range, Canada smashed his weapon down on the skull of the victim. The skull fractured into tiny slivers and the neck snapped to the side before it fell. Prussia stabbed his sword into the last zombie's head and pulled it out when the corpse fell to the ground. "Awesome, we can go and raid a supermarket now!" Prussia declared.

"Yeah, let's go, eh." The trio walked down the block in search of a Path Mark or a Stop & Shop. Five blocks later, they stopped in front of a Shop Rite. The large circular, red and yellow logo was staring down at them. The surrounding parking lot around them held no signs of any life. Cars sat abandoned in their parking spaces and shopping carts were scattered amongst them. The three approached the doors and they slid open with a quiet whoosh. Inside, more carts were dispersed in the aisles. Some of the produce had been smashed against the walls and floor, as if the shoppers had tried to arm themselves with the fruits. The group carefully stepped around the mess and made their way to the checkout area.

"Ok, we'll grab some of these bags here and collect as many groceries as we can. Understood?" Switzerland said. They all nodded. "Good. Now go!" The three grabbed as much of the brown bags as they could carry. Prussia took one of the empty shopping carts and set his bags in there before searching through the store. Canada saw what he did and he followed suit and headed down to the produce section of the supermarket.

Prussia wandered off into one of the various aisles, which just happened to be the dairy section. There were rows and rows of different ice creams, which had very much appealed to Prussia's eyes and appetite. "Kesese. Awesome! Ice cream!" Prussia flung open the freezer door and grabbed out boxes of the sweet desserts. He ripped open one of the boxes and pulled out a Nestle Drumstick with caramel in the centre of the vanilla ice cream cone. He hungrily licked the ice cream as if there was no tomorrow. "Kesesese. Ice cream is awesome, but not as awesome as me." He continued down the aisles of the store, and then found himself at the meat section. In the display counter was a large, juicy tenderloin steak. Prussia's hand immediately grabbed the steak and set it in the cart. He strolled away and saw Canada in the produce area. "Yo Canada!" Prussia yelled out. Canada turned his head and waved back to Prussia with a small smile on his face.

"Hi Prussia" he said timidly. In Canada's cart were numerous packets of seeds, fruits, and vegetables.

"What's with the seeds?" Prussia asked Canada.

"I wasn't sure how long we would have to stay in the temporary hiding place, so I thought that we could grow some of our own food if we have too," said Canada, sounding a bit depressed.

"Oh wait! I got ice cream! Here, pick one," he urged Canada.

"Um... Ok." Canada reached into the cart and picked out a box of orange creamsicles. He opened the box and pulled out one of the tasty treats and promptly started licking it. "Thank you."

"No problem," Prussia flashed one of his wide grins before biting into the cone of his ice cream. It was soft and squishy instead of being hard and crunchy like Prussia expected it to be. "My ice cream cone is soggy," he complained, much to Canada's amusement. At that moment, Switzerland came in with his cart full of water, chocolate, cheese, bread, spices, and other miscellaneous items.

"What's with the ice cream and meat?" he asked. "We don't have anywhere to store them when we get back."

"But they're so yummy," Prussia whined. Switzerland rolled his eyes.

"Ok, but let's hurry and get out of here before we can run into anymore zombies." Switzerland turned to head out the door before Prussia saw the candy.

"Wait! I want to get that dinosaur shaped candy before we leave." Prussia went and grabbed a few packs before turning around again. "Ok, let's go." Switzerland sighed and the three exited the supermarket and headed back to the prison.


	17. Chapter 17

(Written after finishing this chapter: We apologize that this is late due to technical difficulties. Sorry about the delay. Sumimasen orz)

Pandas: Yo dudes! We have finally, _finally _reached this chapter, and everything picks up pace from here. Right after I use two paragraphs to describe their clothes. Goddammit. Anyway, soon the reason for the apocalypse is revealed! ^^

Kat: Haha. And so you leave them hanging xD

Pandas: Of course. Now they have to read on. I hope.

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><p>Prussia, Canada, and Switzerland were nearing the prison, their arms weighed down by plastic shopping bags, but before they reached it, Canada noticed something. That something being a Macy's. By some miracle, Prussia noticed he stopped to stare at the store and he followed his gaze to the front doors.<p>

"What is it?" he asked. Canada broke out of his trance and turned to look at him.

"Well, I was just thinking, we're all in suits, right? It would be better if we had some comfortable clothing instead, and besides, we're already out."

"You're right," said Switzerland, who was already walking to the store. He waited impatiently for them to catch up and then entered the building, the automatic doors closing with a hiss behind them.

They paused for a moment in the gigantic, barely lit space, and then Switzerland set off to the luggage section.

"Why are you going this way?" asked Prussia. "I thought we came for clothes."

"I am. Instead of carrying all the items in our arms, I thought that it would be easier to pack it all into bags that won't rip like these plastic ones," he replied.

"Oh," Prussia replied eloquently. He was such a master of language.

By that time, they had reached the section they had been heading for, and Switzerland immediately took a large black duffel bag from the display. Canada quickly grabbed a navy blue one that had been under the black one and slung it over his shoulder.

Prussia frowned. "That is not awesome, all these other ones are lame. How am I supposed to stuff clothes in a rolling bag? And they're smaller."

"Um," Canada began, "There is this one." He hefted a pink and black bag that had been blocked from Prussia's view. It was larger than the other two bags, true, but it was...polka dotted.

"Whatever," he said, grabbing the bag from his hands. He quickly unzipped it, tore out the packaging, and stuffing the groceries inside. "I'm gonna go get some clothes now."

The others walked with him as they followed the signs to the men's section. When they got there a bounty of clothing spread out before them, all types of shirts and pants everywhere. Prussia went immediately for the jeans, gracelessly shoving pair after pair into his bag.

Canada walked over to the racks and began shoving shirts of all shapes and sizes into his bag as well, tearing them from the racks so he could get out of this creepily silent store already. Switzerland was doing the same, snagging things and forcing them into his duffel in another part of the section.

It went on like this for a few minutes until something caught the corner of Canada's eye. There were brown pants on a shelf down the aisle, the kind England would wear with a sweater vest. His heart sank when he thought about the British nation, and to ward off the feeling he tossed the pants into his duffel and focused again on collecting as many shirts as possible.

He was trying to shove yet another shirt, this one bright blue, into his bag when he noticed that the others were gone. Cursing to himself, he ran towards the exit, hoping to catch them. There was a sinking feeling in his chest again, the sadness and frustration from being forgotten that hit twice as hard now because recently, it seemed as if things had changed. More people were noticing him now and he thought that maybe, just maybe, what he had done might have partially worked. But no, he was still Canada, and that meant that he was still almost completely invisible.

He was about to exit the store when he heard someone calling his name from behind him. Someone who sounded a lot like Prussia. He turned back when he heard it called again, and walked back as if in a dream, hardly able to believe it. Someone noticed he was gone and began looking for him?

He reached the section again, and watched as Prussia called out his name almost frantically and Switzerland looked around in the place he had been.

"I'm here," he called out weakly, and the Prussian turned and sprinted towards him, wrapping him up in a bear hug.

"Where the hell did you go?" he said after releasing him. Canada blinked, breaking out of his trance.

"I...I didn't see you so I thought you had left...and I went to follow you."

"Why would we leave without you?" the other nation asked. "I went to find the bathroom and you weren't here when I came back. Switzerland said he didn't see anything and he was behind a rack. I thought something had gotten you or something!"

"Ah, well...it didn't," Canada answered.

"Thank God for that!" said Prussia. He slung his arm around his shoulder and called out to Switzerland, "We probably have enough now, let's go back!" Not waiting for an answer, he led Canada back to the entrance, the northern nation thinking he might not still be invisible after all. It was almost worth it.

Back at the prison, everyone had drifted back to the front. China had returned to offer his medicine and was followed by everyone he had treated, Spain and Romano had made it back from their hunt for lights with a few flashlights, Hungary, Austria, Italy, and Liechtenstein were all standing and talking in the hall, and Germany and Japan had started cleaning cells nearer the doors.

The soft murmur of conversation was broken with a yell. Liechtenstein clutched at her eye, her healthy one watering from the pain.

"What's wrong?" Hungary asked as the other nations looked on, all of them concerned. The girl just whimpered, shaking her head. Hungary would have made sure she was okay if something hadn't hit the prison door violently followed by the voice of Prussia demanding to be let back in. Leaving Lichtenstein to the care of the other nations, she hefted the plank America had found out of the brackets.

The plank had been found and placed there after the group had left. Someone had noticed the two metal hooks on either side of the door and wondered if they could be used to secure it further. The door already had a regular, albeit rather large and heavy, sliding bolt but that might not have put up with zombie brutality. So America had went back into the storage area of the prison and broke apart a crate to seal the door.

As soon as the plank was removed and the bolt slid across, the door banged open and the three nations entered in, hauling their overstuffed bags with them. These were deposited on the floor near the entryway and then Prussia collapsed onto the floor, searching through his duffel for something to eat. Jeans were flung everywhere as he carved deeper into the bag.

"Dude, why do you have so many jeans?" asked America.

Prussia had retrieved a half melted Popsicle from the bag and now waved it in the direction of Canada. "He had the awesome idea of getting other clothes so we don't have to wear these unawesome suits," he answered, and then stuck the thing back in his mouth.

"Dude! That's a good idea!" America said, and then quickly searched through the jeans for his size, looked through other bags until he found a tan jacket and white shirt, then ran off to change somewhere else. The others followed suit, and soon many of the nations were rifling through the contents of the bags. They had to guess what their sizes were, as they did not know the conversions from their own to the American sizing chart.

"England!" Canada called out to the other nation who was looking through the shirts. The other nation turned to look at him. "I found some pants and shirts that I think are your size. Here." he said, handing them over.

"Thank you," said England, though he felt a bit confused. Why was Canada giving him more consideration than the other nations? No matter; now he had clothing that he would actually like to wear.

Soon most nations had retreated to private areas of the prison to change. Only Russia, Switzerland, and Lichtenstein remained with the newly returned America. Switzerland was talking in hushed tones with his sister, who was obviously in pain, the poor girl, but Russia was just standing there and smiling.

"Hey commie," America started, calling out for his attention. "Why aren't you getting changed?"

"I am more comfortable in these clothes, America. I also am no longer a communist."

"Whatever," the American said, turning away. It was so boring to wait for everyone to return.

First to come back was his brother Canada, dressed in jeans, a red t-shirt, and a white jacket. He was soon followed by the other nations, and it was strange to see them dressed down. They were usually in suits or uniforms when America saw them, so it was somewhat disturbing and weird to see Germany in dark jeans with a black shirt or Hungary not in a dress but pants and a white shirt. Austria in jeans and a dark purple tee was really odd. At least Prussia with his red hoodie looked normal, and England had somehow managed to get a hold of brown pants and a green sweater vest with a white shirt under.

France returned frowning at his indigo shirt and the jeans that were not to his taste, but he sighed and decided he could bear it. China was wearing an over sized red turtleneck when he reached the others, the sleeves covering his hands, which was cute but bad when one was trying to fight with zombies. Japan had a semiformal white shirt on, and he was followed by Italy wearing bright blue and dragging his brother along who was in a slate blue top. Finally Spain came last, wearing a tan shirt.

"So, I guess we should eat or something now?" asked America, eying the bags. But before he could do that, Liechtenstein cried out again. She was shaking now, unable to talk but batting her brother away when he tried to comfort her.

"Lilly," he said, backing away and holding up his hands. "What's wrong?"

Liechtenstein shuddered once more and then was still, leaning against the wall motionlessly. Hungary walked toward her, wanting to see if she could do anything. "Liechtenstein?"

Suddenly, the girl lunged out, her fingers curled into claws and a vicious snarl escaping her throat. The startled nations stumbled back, completely surprised by this behavior from such a sweet girl. Her face was twisted in a mix of agony and anger, and she stilled and glared at the nations, eyes darting from face to face.

"Lilly!" Switzerland called out, taken aback. There was something wrong with his little sister. Really wrong. She lunged out again and he was pulled from her grasp, away from the grasping fingers.

With dawning horror, England figured out what had happened. Everything about zombies was pivotal around brains. They ate them, if you shot them through the head they died, et cetra. And Liechtenstein's eye had been rotting, an organ directly connected to the brain. The girl was gone now, replaced by a bloodthirsty monster.

"Everyone run!" he yelled, quickly reopening the door and dashing through, snagging one of the duffels on the way. This was horrible. Another nation was lost. But there was no time to mourn now; they had to escape. There was no way he would allow anyone would attack her, even if they could stomach it, so all they could do was flee.

Other nations followed him out, spilling onto the street. The zombie Liechtenstein stumbled after, growling at them. Weapons were brandished in front of them, directed at the girl. Switzerland and England both yelled for them to be put away.

"No! That's my sister!"

"There may be a way she can be saved! Don't strike her!"

Seeing the weapons, England remembered that he didn't have his. His beautiful sword was lost, because there was no way to go back and get it now. The girl stood in the entrance, guarding against all attempts to reenter. Attempting to do so would be suicide.

He didn't have much time to curse his luck before his name was called.

"England!" France called. The nation spun around and was presented with the hilt of a very finely crafted sword. "You forgot this," the frog said grimly.

"Thanks," said England, a bit stunned but taking the sword from him. It was one of the nicest things France could have done for him, but England couldn't feel happy right then.

Switzerland had lost all control and composure, screaming at all the nations to put down their weapons. "It's just my sister, can't you see? It's just Lilly! What is wrong with you?" He turned to the smaller nation, talking in a much kinder and softer tone. "Lilly, just calm down now. They think something is wrong, but everything is going to be okay. Just come here, Lilly," he said, opening his arms wide.

The snarling girl moved closer to Switzerland, slowly making her way over. The nations with guns cocked their weapons, but England cried out, "Are you all mad? Don't shoot her; she's a nation, there may be a way to save her! And Switzerland, get away! She's not your sister anymore, not right now! We need to get away from here!"

"No!" Switzerland called back. "She's my sister, I can't leave her! She's just scared! Lilly, come here!"

The girl closed in on the nation, and then it was too late. She wrapped her arms around him, and for a second he looked relived. Then she sank her teeth into the soft skin on his neck, tearing at it, and his eyes widened in shock. The man choked as his neck was devoured, and the other nations looked on in horror. Then his eyes dulled and he slumped, the girl continuing to feast on her first taste of flesh.

"Come on!" England called, choking the words out. "We have to leave now. It's too late."

The other nations tore their eyes away from their dead comrade, and they walked away in stunned silence.

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><p>Pandas: Well...that was depressing.<p> 


	18. Chapter 18

Kat: Welcome back dear readers! Just to let all of you know, I am an idiot. Stupid English essay. T.T But on the bright side, the mysterious cause of the zombie apocalypse is revealed! To those of you who have already figured it out before this point, you get a cookie. ^^ Just use your imagination if it's not there. Anyway, anything new with SHITGA, Pandas?  
>Pandas: Maybe, I'm working on the next chapter right now, while Kat is writing! ^^<br>Kat: I sure hope that it gets posted up soon. Seriously, it's like totally awesome, aru. ^^ Anyway, onto the story~!

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><p>"Shit! Why the hell did Lilly have to turn into a friggin' zombie! We just found that place!" America said as he and the others retreated from the now zombie infested prison. Their feet pounded against the asphalt and echoed throughout the desolate streets. Nothing else was seen in their surroundings, living or undead. England panted from the amount of effort he put in trying to keep up with the others. His side throbbed painfully, begging him stop for a while. He slowed to a halt and rested his hands on his knees, too tired to continue running. America noticed and tugged at the blond nation's arm. "C'mon, dude! You can't stop running now! C'mon!"<p>

England breathed in deeply and let it out with a sigh. "Things would be so much easier if I had my spell book with me right now."

"Stop talking about your stupid spell book already! Magic doesn't work! C'mon, hurry up!" The others had stopped too, staring at the two.

"Maybe we should stop and find a place to rest for a while, sí?" Spain suggested.

"That's a good idea, but where would we go?" said Germany.

The nations all looked around the area they were in. Apparently they had ran into the business section of the town. Suddenly, America spoke up.

"Yo, dudes! What about that abandoned warehouse over there?" America pointed behind the nations to a large and dark building. Ivy had started to climb up the bricks, suggesting the age of the warehouse. The only thing that kept the group from entering was a slightly rusted iron padlock on the door. Nevertheless, it was the best place to have a temporary hideout.

"It'll do. And stop pointing, America. I've already lectured you about how rude it is." England commented.

"Dude, so not cool. But let's open the door already," America went over to the padlock and was about to yank it off before Russia interrupted him.

"Stop, America. We can still use the lock to keep out the zombies, da? Don't break the lock."

"Then how the hell are we going to get in?" said America, frustrated at not being able to do things his way.

"Easy, da? I can pick the lock." Russia's smile had widened and grew more creepy. His hand reached into his coat pocket and came out with a paperclip and a hairpin, which America eyed weirdly because it was a bit disturbing for a guy to have a hairpin in his pocket, but you know. The tall nation straightened out the paperclip and stuck it into the keyhole, dragging it down to the bottom. He then slid in the hairpin in on top of the paperclip and starting wiggling the straightened piece of metal around until the padlock gave a small click and unlocked. Russia smoothly removed the lock from the door and opened it. His smile was triumphant.

"I'm not even going to ask you where you got the hairpin from, but at least you got it to open." America said before he went inside the warehouse. The rest of the nations had filed in behind him, observing the inside of the vast building. Towers of crates were stacked inside the warehouse. Those were the only things in sight, hundreds of crates.

"We should barricade the door, aru." China said. He walked over to a small stack of crates and struggled to push one towards the door. China started sweating from the effort, and stopped to rest for a minute. "A little help, aru?" Russia smiled, pocketed his items, and moved to help the Asian nation.. The other countries had all stood together, discussing their plan of action.

"So where do we go next?" asked Hungary, stating the question on everyone's mind.

"Well we can't run for the rest of our lives. That's for sure." Prussia said.

"Now I really wish I knew who had my spell book." England grumbled.

"It's not like anyone would ever want to steal your silly fantasy book anyway, _Angleterre._" France retorted.

"Shut up, Frog! Magic is real, but it figures that someone of your intellect wouldn't appreciate it."

"Are you calling me stupid, _sourcils?" _By the looks of it, the two are starting to have another heated argument.

"What of it, frog?" England got up in France's face and the two stared each other down. Yup, everything had gone back to normal in their relationship.

"China, what happened to your face?" Russia noticed while they were still blocking the door. This caught the other nations' attention.

"What about it, aru?" China moved his hand to touch his forehead. Instead of feeling his smooth, fair skin, his fingers made contact with grey, rotting flesh. His eyes widened and his other hand flashed up to his hairline, not believing what they felt. China's mouth opened and closed a few times, not knowing what to say.

Canada's expression was one to compete with China's. His horror filled eyes were fixed on the Asian man's face. Traces of other emotions mingled in his violet orbs as he took a few steps back. Tears formed in his eyes and he slowly sank to the ground. He hugged his legs and buried his head in between his knees. Prussia saw him and walked over to the Canadian. "Hey, what's wrong?" Canada stiffened before breaking down into sobs. The nations looked over to him and crowded around.

"What's wrong, Matthieu?" France asked. He crouched down next to Canada and put his hand on his shoulder.

"'m... sorry," Canada said in between sobs, "'took the... 'll book... and I... went ... home... and then... there were... dark swirly... 'ights... and... 'm so... sorry."

"_Quoi?_ What was that?" France said.

Canada lifted his head from his knees, showing thick trails of tears flowed from his eyes. "'m sorry. I …. stole the ….spell book …. and started …. the... zombie... 'pocalypse...didn't know... what would... 'appen. I thought... that... 't would... make me... 'opular... cause of the... picture... of that guy... with the people... 'owing down... to 'im. I... I'm sorry England...for... stealing... your... 'ell book. I'm sorry... to... 'veryone." A fat tear rolled down his cheek.

A thick silence filled the room, smothering the people in it. Canada couldn't bring himself to look at the shocked faces of the others. England's lips struggled to make noise. "Wh... What picture?"

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><p>Kat: Cliffhangers~ Because I'm that evil sometimes ^^<br>Pandas: Yeppers. I cannot wait to write the second half of this emotional scene! And did I mention I love Kat's stuttering? I love it. I cannot write that s**t for my life. She is awesome.  
>Kat: *blushes* No I'm not, aru. But anyway. Please read and review!<p> 


	19. Chapter 19

Pandas: Hello~! Now we shall continue with the Canada scene! ^^ Which, judging by reviews, many of you didn't see coming. Woo! ^^ Also, google is stupid and decided to sign me out of chat, so blame any crappiness or shortness on the fact that I didn't have Kat, because of google. DAMN YOU GOOGLE.

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><p>Canada sat with his head between his knees, not wanting to look up and see the others' expressions. He couldn't talk anymore, and his body was shivering from his sobbing. England knelt beside him, waiting for him to calm down.<p>

After a few minutes, England asked again, "What picture did you see? Assuming the book you used is my spell book, if you can tell me what picture it was I might be able to remember what the page was."

Canada breathed deeply and started to describe it. "'t was...'re was a man, and...'nd he was 'rounded by... bunch of... 'eople..."

"And what were the people doing?" asked England, trying to make his voice soothing (and failing).

"They were...all...'round 'im...and reaching t'ward 'im...and all...like...it looked like they were...'orshiping him..."

England sat back on his heels, trying to remember an image like that in his book. He flipped through his mental catalogue of spells he used often. There was the demon-summoning spell, the many curses and hexes he used, the ones to cure common ailments... He thought he would have remembered one to cause an apocalypse though. And he would have burned that page.

But of course, this wasn't a spell he usually used. He thought back to the last time he had looked through the entire thing, but the memory was fuzzy. Instead, he conjured up an image of the table of contents. It all went in order from the least amount of ability needed to the most, and everything was in Latin.

First came natural remedies, then simple hexes, then basic magic circles, and after that came construction of specified magic circles. Then there were potions, curses, enchantment, and finally a large section dedicated to summoning,.

"Canada, where did you find this picture? Near the front or the back of the book? And what kind of spell was it?"

"It...it was near the back..."

"And what did you do to cast the spell?"

"I...I just...read the words...next to the picture."

"So, near the back and just an incantation...so it's most likely an enchantment or curse, because summoning needs preparation..." England mused.

Suddenly, it struck him. It was quite obvious, really, and England felt like hitting himself for being so blind. The spell he used wasn't to make zombies, not really. Canada was just not experienced in spell casting, and had made a mistake. The only thing it could have been was the spell to raise an undead army.

England groaned, running his hands through his hair. It all made sense. If the army wasn't given specific orders, chances are that it would run rampant. Honestly, though, he felt a little impressed at Canada's ability. It was quite good for a novice. Maybe he should give him lessons later... He looked back at the depressed nation in front of him, and banished the thoughts for the time being.

"Canada...that was a spell to raise an army of corpses. What you did was not the best course of action, but what's done is done and all we can do now is try to stay alive."

Canada traced a crack in the floor, and then breathed in and looked up into his eyes. "England?" he asked tentatively.

"What is it?"

"You said before that...that you might be able to save the nations who had been...been...can you?"

All the nations looked to England, wanting to know the answer too. He looked up, pondering the question and thinking through complicated magical theories. Finally, he answered. "Its...possible...I might be able to stop all this...but I can't know until I look at the spell again...I don't have it memorized. Where did you put my book, Canada?"

Canada frowned, looking ready to burst into tears again. "Canada? Where is my book?" he asked again, fearing for the worst.

"It's...it's in...Canada."

There was a heavy silence, and the nations could not look away from the personification of the place where their salvation lay.

"Canada," started America.

"Yeah?"

"What the hell is it doing there?"

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><p>Pandas: I am sorry for the shortness, readers. T.T I shall maybe do something to make it up to you? But I make no promises.<p> 


	20. Chapter 20

(Written after the stuff below: I'm so sorry that this is late, but we've had more technical difficulties. The flippin' fanfiction website wouldn't let us flippin' upload this to flippin' DocManager. As you can see, I'm pretty flippin' ticked off. -.-')  
>Kat: Yo, I made pancakes this morning, so I'm awesome! ^^ Also, I hate France. Well, like not hate him, but he's so hard to try and imitate! Gosh darnit! I cannot impersonate his pervertedness for my life! orz *head desk*<br>France: Onhonhonhon~ My personality is too great for your innocent little mind to handle.  
>Kat: *Pulls out wok* Shut up, pervert. I still haven't forgiven you for that whole China incident.<br>Pandas: I am equally terrible at France's Frenchness, but he is awesome! Though a bit too...French for his own good.  
>Kat: And maybe I'm a bit too Chinese for his own good... But I still love my wok! I can cook almost anything in it! I even used it to make my pancakes this morning. ^^<br>Pandas: You can cook pancakes in a wok? I thought they were just used for stir fry...sorry T.T Man, I now remember that the first time I heard about a wok it was in a book where the sister of some crazy old kidnappers who was hitting a chef that cooked endangered species over the head with his own wok...  
>Kat: …Sometimes I worry about what you read... But it can be used for stir fry too, and steaming stuff, and making yummy food ^^ Unless the person is cooking disabled. T.T<br>Pandas: Man, that's cool, and at least the story wasn't as bad as the zombie squash.  
>Kat: …I'm not even going to ask where you've read that. But yeah! The story continues~<p>

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><p>Canada shrank back from the loud American, wrapping his arms around his knees. Mr. Kumajirou plopped down next to the blond nation and looked up at him. He didn't dare look at his brother. It took the blond nation a while to reply. "... I left it there when you called me to come over. I didn't think that I would need it for watching a horror movie. I'm sorry."<p>

"Yeah, but dude! Canada is like a thousand freaking miles away and I don't wanna walk that much!"

"Shut up, America! It's no use arguing about it and making Canada feel worse. I suggest you get off your lazy arse and deal with it. Stop exaggerating the mileage, too! From here to Canada is probably about half of that. And use proper grammar, for God's sake! Even though you have no official language doesn't mean that you can butcher mine!"

"Iggy!" America whined, "I keep on telling you that I don't speak English. I speak one hundred percent American and I'm proud of it!"

"Honestly, how can you two be fighting at a time like this?" Hungary snapped.

"Perhaps they have some unresolved sexual tension, _non_?" France remarked.

The hairs on England's neck stood up on end. "WHAT THE HELL, FROG!"

"_Onhonhonhon._ But it is true, _non_?"

"SHUT UP, FROG! You are the most perverted person I have ever met!" England's eyebrows mashed together in frustration.

"_Onhonhon. Merci,_" France said with a mock bow.

"Go be French somewhere else, Frog," England said. He then turned to Canada. "Matthew, where exactly is my spell book, and how did you get it?"

The said nation lowered his head and stared at the ground. His index finger traced little circles on the concrete. "I..." he began, not really wanting to say it. Saying it would solidify it and make it real, and there was still a tiny bit of him, a small part, that wanted to deny that this was all happening and that it was all his fault.

He took a deep breath, and started again. "I...showed up to... the motel... and I said 'hi' to other people. They just went on with their business, walking past me as if I wasn't there. I felt lonely, so I went up to your room. I tried talking to you... I kept on trying to make a conversation... but you treated me like a ghost. You raised me... yet you didn't see me. I just... snapped. I started yelling and screaming at you to look at me... and I was about to throw a book at you. But... the strange markings on it caught my attention. I was curious... so I flipped through the pages. I leafed through the book until I saw the picture... and I thought that I could use it. So I took it... and I went back home, to where nobody could see me."

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><p>Canada thought back to the cold, bitter rain that poured down from above as he hurriedly crossed the street to get to his house. His wet footsteps splashed with every step he took. He held the book tightly to his chest as he went, not caring about his appearance. It wasn't like anyone could see him anyway. Canada hugged the object with one arm, using the other to fling open the front door. He stepped into the house and shut the door behind him. Then, he turned around and saw his polar bear on the couch watching television.<p>

"Hi, Mr. Kumashima," Canada greeted his pet. The bear turned and faced him. One of his paws reached up to his face and he rubbed his eye.

"Who are you?" he innocently asked.

"I'm Canada... Your owner," the blond said in a defeated tone. Canada trudged up the stairs and went to his room. Mr. Kumajirou clicked the TV off and followed the nation. Canada hung his coat up in the closet and brought the book to his bedroom. He stood in the middle of his round carpet and flipped through it until he found the page with the drawing he wanted. "I feel so stupid," Canada said.

"What are you doing?" Mr. Kumajirou asked Canada. Said nation looked at his bear. His ears went red when he thought over what he was about to do, and that his own pet was watching him carry out such a thing.

"I... I'm going to use a spell to make... to make me more noticeable and popular."

"Maybe you shouldn't." Mr. Kumajirou said, wary of the idea.

"It's worth a try." Canada faced back to the book and tried to make sense of the familiar letters that made up Latin. Once he thought that he had some knowledge of how to say the words, he began chanting. "_Surge... satel... satellitibus... mor... mortuum meum! Mandue... manduca qu... quis contradicet mihi! Egrederp, uh... egredere!" _God, why was Latin so hard to say?

Great bursts of misty, thick, dark violet lights flooded the room. Swirls of smoke clouded their vision, making Canada shiver from vulnerability. "Ooh. Pretty lights," Mr. Kumajirou commented. His owner swatted away the smoke from his face, trying to regain his sight. The light had released plant-like tendrils that tried to grab hold of Canada. He felt one brush against his leg and he yelped, kicked at the thing that was so alien to him, and backed away from it. As soon as the light had came, it vanished, leaving the room as it had been earlier.

"Do you think it worked?"

"I don't know. You still look the same to me." Canada jumped at his cell phone's shrill ringing and nearly dropped the book. He set the tome on his bed before reaching for his pocket to grab his phone. He flipped it open and held it to his ear.

"H-hello?" Canada answered hesitantly.

"YO, MATTIE! COME DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW AND WATCH A MOVIE WITH ME!" America's loud voice blared from the phone, causing Matthew to hold it a a distance.

"It's a horror movie, isn't it?" Canada was used to having his twin beg him to watch scary movies with him.

"Uh... um... yeah. So what?"

Canada sighed. "Fine. When do you want me to come over?"

"GREAT! DUDE, THAT'S AWESOME! COME OVER NOOOW!"

"Right now?"

"TOTALLY, DUDE!"

"Fine. I'll be there in a few hours, eh?"

"YAY! AWESOME! BYE!"

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><p>It was quiet in the warehouse. Not one of them knew what to say. All were surprised at what Canada had done. Prussia had finally shattered the silence. "So, what happens now?"<p>

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><p>Kat: Sorry that I suck at writing Canada *kowtow* Also, what Canada meant to say was: Surge satellitibus mortuum meum! Manduca quis contradicet mihi! Egredere! (Arise my dead minions! Eat all who oppose me! Go forth!)<br>Pandas: Well, he didn't mean to say it, actually, but it is what was written in the book~!  
>Kat: Yup. Well, goodnight everyone. And I don't care if it's not night in your part of the world, but it's night somewhere in the world. ^^<br>Pandas: Not somewhere, here~!  
>Kat: Exactly, and here is somewhere too~<br>Pandas: Yes, but...oh never mind, I'm tired.  
>Kat: You're not the only one. So anyway, read and review~! Please. Reviews are what makes us keep on writing~ ^^<p> 


	21. Chapter 21

Pandas: Greetings, readers ^^ I must inform you that we will be going on a short, two week hiatus for multiple reasons, one of them being improving our writing and chapter length. We have tried different things out in the past but we're really hoping that this strategy works, so bear with us and after two weeks we will definitely be back to regular updates. Just, If we have already written chapters, we won't need to rush so much, and hopefully the length and writing will improve.  
>Kat: Please forgive us. *kowtow* We just want to write chapters in advance and have one already done just in case of emergency too. Thank you for your patience.<br>Pandas: Yes, thank you. However, I may post an additional story I have been working on in that time, so look out for that. I apologise, and hope you can appreciate our need to do this. (Also, if you want something else to read in the meantime, I am notorious for recommending good things and getting people addicted, so just message me.)  
>Kat: That is very true -.-' She's gotten me addicted to many fandoms. Thanks a lot, Pandas, for limiting my amount of free time. And yeah, you do it too much. . But I still love you 3<br>Pandas: Aha, I am awesome~! And so is everyone else~!

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><p>There was a silence while England pondered Prussia's question.<p>

"Well, now we have to go to Canada to get my book and so I can read the spell and try and reverse it. Since I am assuming that this spell was the last thing it was used to cast, I can probably use the magical residue from it to stop this whole mess," England explained. He sighed, thinking of something else. If only one of his fairy friends were here, he could get them to go retrieve the book while they waited in this place. It stood to reason that if they were invisible to the humans when they were alive, they would remain invisible to the dead. Unfortunately, he asked them to stay home because he didn't want them to set pranks for him when he was out at the meetings. They got bored, after all, being invisible to all the mortals, and at home there were all sorts of other fairies for them to talk to.

"So, we should start looking for a car, then?" asked America.

"A car? We'd need several to bring us all there. And besides, we'd have to hotwire them, and I'm not sure anyone here knows how to do that."

"But besides the cars," interjected France. "This means we all need to protect England, non?"

"What are you on about, frog?" England asked, annoyed. "I can take care of myself."

"Mon cher, if you are the only one who can use magic here, we must make sure that you get to your book."

"I don't need any special consideration. We'll all get to Canada fine if we look out for each other."

"I do not think so. This is a big group, and there will be casualties. Besides that, there is a chance that any one of us may attack, like Lichtenstein. And so, we must reduce the threats towards you and make sure that you, at least, get to Canada's house safely."

England still wanted to object to being treated differently, but France had made a good point, as much as he didn't want to admit it. He frowned at the other nation disapprovingly.

"France is probably right," interjected America. "After all, you're the only person that can help us if we die, right? So, you're like...a medic in a video game, but if you die we're pretty much screwed."

"I appreciate the thought, America," England said in a tone that indicated quite the opposite. "But I believe I am capable of defending myself, so you don't need to be concerned."

America snorted. "What, with your magical sword?"

England glared at him. "You've accepted that this all started with magic, yet you still can't believe that I can enchant objects?"

"Well, if it's so magical, do something with it!"

"I believe I shall," he said calmly. England drew his sword and faced an empty part of the warehouse, glaring at the space. Most of the nations were still sceptical, doubting in a tiny part of their brains that this was all real and that the British nation wasn't crazy.

He slowly raised the strangely carved weapon, breathing slowly and playing it up for drama. some nations rolled their eyes at that, but who could blame him? He finally had a chance to prove that he had magical talent, and he wanted to show it off. He could barely suppress a smirk.

Swiftly, he brought the sword down, seemingly slashing at nothing, but the ground rumbled beneath him and suddenly spikes of earth crashed through the concrete, breaking it apart like it was nothing and impaling the imagined enemies.

England smiled smugly. "That isn't the only thing this can do," he informed the bewildered nations, who were still staring, mouths agape, at the proof of magic right before their eyes. "Actually," he continued, "That is one of the basic moves for this sword, but I didn't want to do anything too drastic."

"Aiyaah," China said, unable to form any other words, "N... yo...n... Aiyaah." Various other sounds came from them, like Italy's vee and Romano's cursing. The satisfied grin spread wider on England's face.

"England?" France asked, bewildered. "Can...can mine do that?"

"First of all, it is not your sword, it's mine. And second, of course not," he answered. "That one is a water element sword."

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><p>Pandas: Woohoo, hoped you enjoyed that little bit of England epicness as much as i did!<br>Kat: For those who do not speak any form of Chinese, China was trying to say 'you' in Chinese, then English, then back to Chinese. So yeah. ^^  
>Pandas: Woo, awesome~ Everyone is freaking out, man~<p> 


	22. Chapter 22

Pandas: Hello again, we're back, for real this time~! If you didn't see our fake April Fools chapter, then...sorry, aha. Maybe we'll add it to the story as an extra bit at the end, once it's completed. Also, I really hope we haven't lost readers from our hiatus~ Anyway, as promised, here is a really long chapter, just for you lovely people~ Also, just thought I'd mention, Kat and I had a discussion during the making of this that officially, Germany was formed in 1871. America is officially older than him. Our brains broke -.-'  
>Kat: Mind boggling, yes? Though my mind still won't accept it.<br>Pandas: Let us hope that he is Holy Rome, and even if he isn't officially older, he is actually older.  
>Kat: Does that make sense? Aha ^^```<br>Pandas: I am not completely sure.

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><p>France stared down at the sword on his hip, and then his eyes glanced at the sword in England's firm grip, but his gaze finally rested on the damage done to the floor. The freshly exposed earth had started to crumble in places, small clumps pulled downwards.<p>

Suddenly, America started laughing loudly, doubling over from the force of his mirth. England's grin faded fast. When the nation had finally caught his breath, he choked out, "Oh, man...ahaha...it's all...crumbling! Magic is stupid!"

The other nation scowled. "It is not. Magic is..." but he was cut off by another outburst of laughter, and now other nations were joining in and giggling.

"Kesesesesese. No wonder you don't use it in battle; it's just for show!" England's eye twitched.

"Dude, it's falling apart! How's that supposed to hurt anyone? It'd break before it did anything!"

England had had about enough of this. He raised his sword again, and the ground shook, cracking the floor. A rock burst through the concrete in front of him and hovered in place. Quickly, he slashed his sword through the air in front of himself and the stone zoomed off towards the duo.

Despite the fact that England was annoyed by their antics, he didn't want to hurt them, and so it sailed above America's head harmlessly. He felt the breeze ruffle his hair but he didn't fully realize what had happened until the rock crashed into the wall behind him, cracking it, and ricocheted off to smack into the side of Prussia's head.

To say the least, the Prussian had not expected to be hit by a speeding projectile. For a second he looked confused before he fell over, unconscious. Thankfully, the rock had lost some of its force from bouncing off the wall and so he would be mostly fine, just waking up with a terrible headache.

"Dude! Whoa! What the hell?" America cried as Canada got over his depression just enough to rush over to Prussia, inspecting the damage and cradling his head in his hands. Italy and Japan also went to his side, checking to see if he was alright.

"That was not my original intention," England said, trying to hide his surprise at this development.

"Hey, at least he's quiet now!" said Hungary happily. Silently, a few nations agreed with her.

Meanwhile, France had been studying his (in reality, England's) sword, following the looping symbols etched on it with his eyes. He raised it up, trying to concentrate on the concept of water, and swung the blade through the air. Nothing happened.

"Good job," said England sarcastically, noticing and completely forgetting about Prussia in the process. "That was one of the most amazing displays of magical prowess I have ever witnessed. You are truly a prodigy. I applaud you." England clapped slowly, expressionless.

"_Tais-toi!_" France said, glaring. "I may not be able to use _cette putain de épée_, but at least my cooking is edible!"

The Englishman ignored the insult and made his way over to France, taking the sword from his hands. "Pay attention, frog. This is a water element sword, and you need water to use its magic."

"Why are you telling me this?" France asked. It was strange that a nation that claimed hatred for him was how teaching him to use his prize weapon, unless...

France put on his best lecherous grin and purred, "_Mon cher_, is this your way of showing me that you love me?"

"You're mental, frog," England answered, his cheeks coloring the slightest bit. "I just can't stand to see you waving this sword around like an idiot."

France hid his disappointment expertly as England started his lesson. "Now, we have bottled water, but in the case that water is not readily available, it is useful to know that this can draw up water from the ground and suck the moisture from the air, but most tend to prefer the former method if they have the time to perform it."

England pointed the sword at the exposed earth and scowled, concentrating. He could feel the water now that the sword was in his hands, but it was difficult to pull it up through the ground, and it felt like a great pressure on his mind.

He did it though, and the water bubbled up to the surface and hung in the air. Tendrils of water snaked up to join the mass, and when he believed there was enough he let it crash on the concrete with a wet plop. It now shimmered on the ground, coating it and reflecting the light back on them.

"Now," he said, handing the sword back. "Try and manipulate the water."

France took the sword from him and stepped closer to the water, determined to do something this time and taunt England. Old habits die hard. The nation raised the weapon, furrowing his brow as he tried to force the clear water to move. He imagined what he wanted the puddle to do, picturing it floating up into the air like it had done for England. There was barely a ripple on the surface.

England smirked, still standing by the earth where he had collected the water. "It seems I overestimated your abilities. It is clear to me now that you have no magical talent whatsoever."

France whirled around angrily, pointing his sword at England. That was about the time the water decided to obey his command to follow the weapon. The Frenchman opened his mouth to voice a witty retort, but was interrupted by the water crashing into the other man. England's eyes widened as he was drenched, and when the watery assault had finished he just stood there, shocked.

Someone giggled, breaking the soggy Englishman out of his trance. "Bloody hell, you wanker!" He wrapped his arms around himself and glared. That water made him _cold_. More laughing came from the direction of the others, and he turned to yell at them too. "Shut up! This is not funny! Now what the hell am I going to do?"

"Karma, man!" America shouted at him, chuckling.

"You tosser! Prussia will be fine but now I'm bloody drenched and it's bloody _cold_!"

England felt arms wrap around his waist behind him and he was pressed into someone's chest. "I can help with that, _oui_?"

England was frozen for a second, his face heating up, but then he jabbed his elbow back at his captor, making him wince in pain. "Let go of me, you bloody frog! I'll be fine without you, thank you very much!" He pulled away with a huff, his face still feeling uncomfortably hot. "Bloody wanker, with your bloody perversion and your bloody Frenchness!"

The Englishman snatched the water sword away from France and he pulled the water on him away from his clothes, drying himself. Wordlessly, he handed it back and got his own sword, turning around to face his adversary.

"It would seem," said England calmly, "that you are unable as of now to use my sword without strong emotions to spark the magic."

France frowned. "I don't want to use some silly magic spell anyway. I can just use the sword as one would usually use it."

"I'm afraid that I cannot let you do that. You see, I am in the mood to provoke some strong emotions now," he said with a smile that could make demons run for the hills.

Without another word, England slashed up, spears of dirt crashing through the concrete. France barely avoided them, rolling away and springing back to his feet. He was just in time to see a rock soaring at him, giving him barely enough warning to duck under the projectile.

"Sacre bleu!" France yelled. England sent another rock flying at him, which he almost didn't dodge. Then England did something strange with his sword, running his hand over the flat of the blade while chanting something. France definitely didn't want to know what that did. Unfortunately, he was going to find out.

From the earth rose a gigantic mass of dirt, but even as it was rising it was quickly changing into something else, becoming a dark red and radiating heat. A crust formed over it but it was still glowing through the cracks and forming into a recognisable shape. A long, thin body twisted in the air around England, a body one could easily identify as a snake.

The lava snake opened its mouth wide, showing off its enormous black fangs, and France might have surrendered right then if he believed England would let him. Instead, he watched carefully, holding his sword before him. At least there was no chance of being poisoned. It was a lava snake, and melted rock wasn't toxic. It was just hot as hell.

France gripped his sword tighter, trying to picture the water attacking the snake. Nothing happened. Again. He tried to think back to when he had flung water at England. How had he done that? England had said it was strong emotions. France tried to think of the emotions he had been feeling then, and the emotions he was feeling now, and the water suddenly soared up into a messily formed blobby mass.

France tried to direct it toward England, but it was disorienting to move it and also felt like he was mentally playing piano with fat and clumsy fingers. The water bubble burst and fell back to the ground, and he felt like letting out a frustrated scream. England just smirked, his snake climbing higher in the air.

Frantically, France tried to regain control of the water. It was a bit easier this time, but not by much. He tried to put it on a course for the snake again, but it swayed drunkenly from side to side and kept dropping lower. It was sort of like playing a videogame with half the controls working, the functioning ones switching all the time.

Slowly, he learned how to make it rise with the snake, and set it on a straight course for it. The water picked up speed and crashed into the head of the beast turning into steam and accomplishing absolutely nothing. The cracks formed again, and now the snake turned its glowing eyes toward the Frenchman.

"Bravo, frog," England said. "You do know that water evaporates, don't you? What exactly were you trying to do?"

France scowled at him, but suddenly yelped when the snake dived straight for him. He held up his sword in defence, terrified and praying for a miracle. And suddenly one came, water sucked from thin air and forming a ribbon in front of it, cutting the thing in half as it sped through. The beast reformed but then suddenly formed into rock, falling and shattering. France let out a sigh of relief, now shaking from the adrenaline coursing through his veins.

A look of surprise and mild admiration was on England's face. "Not bad, for a beginner." A torrent of curses fell from the Frenchman's lips.

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><p>Pandas: So, another chapter finished, and thank you for being patient and waiting for us. On another note, this (htt p:image okie.n et/_cb 201107 091617 11/layto n/image s/3/3a/ Desc ole_Slow_Clap.p ng) is the facial expression England had when sarcastically applauding France, and I thought it was such a perfect representation so I decided to share it, also I probably failed describing it -.-' Also also, it kind of reminds one of Turkey...  
>Kat: Turkey! Turkey and his awesome mask!~ 333<br>Pandas: Also, while I do take French, I am not fluent in the curses. "Tais-toi" means shut up, according to a French friend of Kat's, and "putain" apparently means "wh0re" but can be used in other ways, like to mean the equivalent of bloody? It's supposed to mean "this bloody sword." Sorry if I have totally failed here -.-'  
>Kat: Arghhh, France and your Frenchness! . Even if I do dislike you, I still pity you.<br>Pandas: I can just imagine everyone eating popcorn as he's being attacked, though ^^


	23. Chapter 23

(Written after all of that stuff below- Kat: Sorry that this was delayed! Pandas didn't have any power on Easter so she couldn't see and approve of the chappie. I'm sorry that this always happens, but technology hates us. OTL)  
>Kat: Hey~ So dudes, lots of stuff has been going on, such as... um, Easter! Spring Break is finally here!<br>Pandas: Easter...another Sunday spent with my great aunt, my grandparents, and my psychotic cousin eating bread shaped like a bunny. Good times.  
>Kat: I'm sorry. At least you celebrate it. My family doesn't, for most of it is not Christian. Therefore, I do not celebrate Easter, Even though I wish I did. T.T But Happy Passover too.<br>Pandas: Awww, poor you. But I honestly think you aren't missing out on too much.  
>Kat: Like Easter Mass? Yeah, I guess you're right.<br>Pandas: Easter Mass? Isn't mass...catholic? Or is it that Sunday where you get those leaves and run around hitting everyone?  
>Kat: WHAT? I thought Mass was that thing every Sunday with that Priest talking about stuff and the wine for the blood of Christ and bread for the body of Christ. And Catholicism is still part of Christianity. And I think Easter is that day where Jesus came back to life, right?<br>Pandas: Sometimes we have communion, where you eat crackers and drink grape juice? Maybe it's 'cause I go to a Protestant church. And yes, catholics are the "original" church, but that's the whole point, Protestants and Catholics worship differently. But yeah, Easter sunday is when Jesus came back, we just get the leaves because...I dunno, you're supposed to weave it into a cross I think.  
>Kat: My grandma knew how to weave baskets ^^ Okay, sorry about the long AN. OTL

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><p>What seemed to be soft mutterings around Prussia transformed into boisterous yells. Footsteps resonated within the cavern of his dreamlike state. Prussia grumbled from the disturbance in his light slumber. "Mm, West, five more minutes." He tossed over to his right and his head fell off the lap and collided with the floor. His eyes snapped open and he shouted, "OW! What the f*cking hell?" A timid hand reached for the back of Prussia's head, but instead it touched the albino's cheek as he rolled over.<p>

Red eyes clashed with violet. His own cheeks reddened from the contact. Canada held his breath, hoping that he hadn't just made the situation awkward. He removed his hand from the face of his friend. In embarrassment, the blonde's eyes looked away from the other's face. Prussia took him by surprise and laid his head back down into the man's lap. The Canadian's eyes looked back into the German's again. "Pr-Prussia? Are you okay?"

"Ngh, yeah. I'm fine. I've got a killer headache, but I'll be fine. What happened anyway?"

"Huh? Aha, yeah, long story. Remember when you and America were laughing at England's magic?" Prussia nodded his head. "So England was really annoyed, so he used his sword again. He summoned this rock from the ground and he threw it next to America. It just barely missed his head, and hit the wall behind him. The rock split into pieces, and ricocheted off the wall before it hit you in the , it only had enough force to knock you out instead of doing anything worse." Canada took an unsteady breath. "Don't worry me like that again."

"Kesesesese. You were worried? My awesome charm has put you under my spell, hasn't it?" Prussia smirked, his eyes full of laughter and happiness as he watched the flustered Canada.

"N-No... It's just... it's just that... you know..." Canada shifted his upper body away from the other person, trying his best to avoid eye contact with the other man. "We're both friends and all, so of course I would be worried." His voice was shaky from the situation at hand.

Prussia's ego was deflated from the last line. "R-Right. Just friends. Of course." He coughed awkwardly, and neither one of them spoke for a while. "Um, so... I heard people fighting before. What happened?"

Canada finally looked back to Prussia."Oh, so you heard that, huh? France and England were sword fighting, kind of..."

"Kind of?" Prussia took his head out of Canada's lap and sat up.

"Yeah... France was trying to learn how to use his water sword, and soaked England in the process. England got very annoyed, so he decided to teach France the hard way. Apparently, England could control lava and made this giant lava snake. France was panicking and tried attacking it, so yeah. Nothing's really changed between France and England." Canada sighed. "I don't- Oh."

A feral hunger washed over the blond nation. His eyes glazed over with a blank, dull stare, not seeing rationale as he wanted to quench the hunger inside. Canada's hands firmly gripped the albino's shoulders, trying to hold the larger nation still with his new-found strength. He did not see the confused look plastered onto the other's face when he leaned in closer to the man. The blonde lowered his face into the crook of Prussia's neck and inhaled the scent, mouth watering. "Canada?" the other nation said, breaking him out of his trance.

"Hm?" The light came back into his eyes, bringing life back into them. Canada saw how he was positioned on Prussia and a blush invaded his cheeks once more. "Sorry, I just lost control for a minute... Aha." He laughed nervously.

A grin slowly spread across Prussia's face. "I knew it, i knew it! Kesesese!"

"Knew what? What did I do?"

"You like me. You know that you totally like me! Kesesese. Come here!" Prussia hugged Canada tightly, laughing all the while. Others had been attracted to the scene and started whispering to one another.

"Wh-what? I... You..." Canada sighed. "You're not gonna give up, are you?"

"Nope!"

Canada tried shoving at Prussia's chest, trying to make some space between them, but to no avail. "Prussia, do you want to, you know, stop hugging me. People are staring at us."

"Huh?" Said nation looked around them and saw that the blond was right. Hungary seemed to be the one who enjoyed the scene the most, judging by her constant squeals of delight and the huge smile on her face. "You're right," and with that Prussia immediately let go of the Canadian and got up to his feet. The Prussian offered his hand to Canada and helped him up too.

'Why can't I be invisible when I want to?' Canada thought to himself. As if some higher power from above had heard him, his wish was granted.

"Ok, so now that everything's settled, we should make a plan to get through this entire mess. Ok... Say, does anyone feel like we're being watched?" England said to everyone.

"Yes, I feel it too, aru," China agreed. "Do you think that there are bad spirits in this place, aru? Aiyah, I should have entered this warehouse with my left foot first and my thumb touching my middle finger, aru."

"What the hell are you talking about, China? You're superstitions are weird and don't exist! And don't mention your middle finger. It's totally rude."

"So I'm the rude one, aru! Speak for yourself, aru. You're such a hypocrite, aru."

"Dude, since when was I a hippogriff? Dude, that's awesome! I can like fly around and like totally injure all the people I hate! Awesome!"

"No! Not a hippogriff, you git! A hypocrite!" England yelled at America.

"A hypocrite? What the hell is that?"

"Nevermind, bloody wanker." England sighed at America's stupidity. "Whatever, so how many of us are there? I want to do a headcount to make sure everyone's here."

"Fourteen people, I think, aru."

England nodded. "Ok, let's see. Two, four six... Stop moving, bloody frog! Nine, eleven, thirteen... Thirteen. There's only thirteen people here, China. Are you sure there was fourteen of us?"

"Positive, aru. I'm always right, aru." England recounted again, his eyes skipping over a certain Canadian.

"But I'm here... Why can't anyone see me? Prussia, you can see me, right?" The blonde looked up to the albino, who didn't even hear him. Canada could have been air for the matter. "Prussia?" He poked at the man's arm, hoping to get a reaction from him. Instead, Prussia didn't even glance his way and slapped his arm as if a mosquito bit him. "Prussia..." Canada said weakly. Tears formed in the Canadian's eyes and threatened to spill. "No. No, no, no, no, no..." It couldn't have been real, not when he was just talking to him moments before.

He stepped away from the man. This wasn't reality, it couldn't be. 'No...' The word echoed through his head. One lone tear slid down his cheek, leaving a clear, wet trail. Canada whirled around and ran to the door. He pushed it open, and looked back at the first man to show him affection, hoping that by some miracle he would notice him. Sadly, no. No such thing happened. The tears streamed from his eyes and he ran away from the only safe house he had, knowing what he was about to face.

* * *

><p>"Ok. so here's what we're going to do," England started, but Prussia had tuned him out. Seriously, England was so boring when he talks. The only time he actually paid attention to the nation was when he and France were trying to rip their heads off, and that wasn't happening, so why bother? So Prussia was milling about in his thoughts and then you could finally see the light going off above his head. He turned around to the person next to him, who happened to be Austria.<p>

"Yo, Austria. Have you seen Canada?"

"Who?"

"Canada, you know. That guy that looks so much like America and carries a bear with him all the time."

Austria thought for a moment before answering. "No, I don't believe that I have seen such a person around here." And with that, Austria turned around to listen to the instructions given. Worry was etched over Prussia's face as he wondered where his Canadian could be. He looked around the warehouse, noticing that the boxes were no longer barricading the door. Worst case scenarios played through Prussia's head, stressing the man.

'I gotta go find him," Prussia thought. Thankfully, everyone around him was too busy focusing on the plan. The albino quietly walked away to the door without anyone noticing. It was not until he slipped out the door that he started sprinting, not caring about how loud his footsteps were. 'I hope I'm not too late.' He searched left and right, finding no sign of his beloved Canadian. "Damnit, Canada. Where are you?" Prussia turned at a blind corner and breathed a sigh of relief. In the middle of the street was Canada's figure, back facing the Prussian. The red-eyed man walked up to Canada, rambling nonsense happily.

"Canada, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you. I'm so glad that I found you alive. We should go back to the others now before we find any zombies, ok?" Prussia was right behind Canada and put his hand on the other's shoulder.

Canada slowly turned around, showing Prussia his tear-stained face. He was silent for a moment before he could find his voice. "Y-you... You can see me?"

"Of course I can see you. Damn, why did you leave? You know that it's dangerous out here."

Canada sniffled. "I know. I'm sorry. It's just that..." Tears once again collected in his eyes. "Nobody saw me. It... It was like I wasn't there." It pained Prussia to see him like this.

"But I see you. Isn't that enough?" They looked into each other's eyes, reading the emotion inside them. "I like you, Matthew. I have liked you ever since I've first met you."

A mix of disbelief and joy was on Matthew's face. "You really mean it?"

"Of course I do. You're the awesomest person I know." Prussia gave Canada a crooked smile, making him smile as well. "Let's get back to the others, okay?" Canada nodded.

Prussia took Canada's hand in his own and lead the way back to the warehouse, smiling all the way. "Dude, this is awesome! I don't have to keep it a secret anymore. And you like me too, so that makes it awesomer!"

"Is that even a real word?"

"I don't know, but I'm still gonna use it." They had arrived to the block the warehouse was on. From inside, you could hear England yelling at someone.

"No! Don't open the door, you bloody git!"

"Hmm? Why not, Iggy?" America pushed the door open and saw Prussia and Canada walking down the street. "Hey, look! It's Mattie and Gilbert! Yo, dudes! What's up?" America was waving his arm like the idiot he was.

"Hey! What's up?" Prussia was about to lift his free arm up to wave back when he felt Canada stiffen beside him. "What's wrong?"

The blank stare was back in his eyes. He turned towards Prussia and lifted himself up to the other's face. Canada leaned into Prussia's neck and sniffed the scent of the pale skin on it. His hands grasped onto the albino's shoulders and held him firmly into place.

"Canada, what are you doing?" Seriously, all that he wanted was someone to love. Is that too much to ask for? As much as Prussia hated them, traitor tears were forming in his eyes. The blonde pressed his mouth onto the tender flesh before sinking his teeth into it. Prussia's eyes widened and one lone tear slid down his cheek while he let out an ear splitting scream.

"Prussia!" America was reeling in shock from seeing his friend being turned into a zombie.

"Shut the door! Shut the door! Shut the fucking door already, _bastardo!_" Romano shouted at America.

America's hands fumbled with the door knob and slammed it shut. "Dude, we, like, totally need to barricade this door right now!"

"_Bruder_!" Germany yelled. He looked like he was about to run outside, so Japan put his hand on his elbow.

"You can't go outside, _Doitsu-san_. It's too late to save him."

"But he's _mein bruder_! I can't leave him like that."

"I'm afraid you'll have to Germany," England said solemnly.

"Dudes, hello! Zombies right outside, remember?"

"Patience, aru. Respect your elders, aru. I'm not as young as I used to be, aru."

"Shut up, China! Ok, everyone grab some boxes and block this door, now!"

"Aiyah, aru. You disgrace the ancient ways of Confucianism, aru."

"I really don't care, China."

"Youngsters these days, aru." China grumbled.

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><p>Kat: Hope that you've enjoyed this. Let's see who's going to die next~ Ahahaha ^^ Sorry it's so sad, but I feel no emotion now. Right Pandas?<br>Pandas: Oh man, I am in an emotionless state, too. Poor Prussia, though. In other news, I love it when China and America interact. I really do.  
>Kat: Aiyah, I wish I was back in the olden days. I loved how simple everything was. Now it's all buildings in Hong Kong and China.<br>Pandas: There must be some rural areas somewhere.  
>Kat: Yeah... Desert. T.T<br>Pandas: Desert isn't rural...I mean farms. Desert is desert.  
>Kat: They've all been covered in concrete and buildings by now. T.T<br>Pandas: China cannot be entirely city. In New York, there are rural areas and campgrounds.  
>Kat: I guess that there may be a few remaining mountains left that they haven't constructed over. Wait, I totally forgot about the rice fields! I'm stupid T.T if not forgetful..<br>Pandas: Rice fields. Always fun.


	24. Chapter 24

Pandas: Hi! I apologize in advance if this isn't the best chapter, I was kind of caught up in the lazy spring break mentality. I wasted all my time reading and playing with my new rats. I am obsessed with my rats. This is entirely my fault -.-' I will try my best though.  
>Kat: God, exactly what I hate about Spring Break. Then we go back to school and I'm all like out of it, you know?<br>Pandas:I don't even want to think of school right now T.T

* * *

><p>America stared at the barricaded door, trying to grasp what had happened. His brother, who he hardly noticed and ignored, was dead. How could he be a hero if he couldn't save his own brother?<p>

Russia stepped beside America and the younger nation shot him a glare. "America," he started, but he was cut off.

"Whatever you're going to say, Russia, I don't want to hear, so shut your fucking mouth and go away."

Russia smiled his creepy smile, but there was something different about it this time. America didn't care and instead glared pointedly at the door. He was not expecting sound to come from behind it.

"America~!" came Canada's voice from beyond the door. "Won't you let us in?"

"Yes, America. We're perfectly fine. Won't you open the door?" said Prussia. "If you let us in, you're totally awesome."

"You don't want us to be out here with them, do you? Let us in so we can be safe."

"Canada?" America asked, his eyes wide.

"Yes, America. I'm here, and I'm safe. I just need you to open the door. Open the door, and everything will be ok. You'll be a hero."

The American wanted to rush over and move the barricade to fling the door open wide, but a hand on his shoulder restrained him. Russia's usual grin was gone, replaced by a grim and serious look. "You can't open it, America. It's a trap. You saw what happened."

"He's lying!" cried Canada from behind the door. "We're okay! America, won't you save us and be a hero?"

America shook, and screamed at the door, "No, you're not! You're not okay! I saw you turn into a zombie and bite Prussia! There is no way in hell I'm letting you in, Canada! You want to eat our brains, but I won't let you! But I will save you, Canada! We'll turn off the zombie apocalypse somehow and then you'll be okay, so just wait!"

"America, I'm not a zombie, I promise. Just let me in and you'll see."

"How stupid do you think I am, Canada?"

"You're not stupid, America! Just let me in!" A muffled roar came from beyond the door, sounding like it was coming from off in the distance. "America! Alfred!" Canada screamed desperately.

"No!" America screamed back, putting his hands over his ears. Canada continued to scream for him and beg to be let in until it became unintelligible and mindless. The roaring came closer.

"It's coming!" Canada screamed, his voice now hoarse. "Oh God, Alfred, open the door, please!"

America wanted to knock open the door right then and damn the consequences, but Russia had begun to drag him away. "Ignore it, America. It isn't real." A particularly terrible roar echoed through the building followed by the worst scream yet, and then everything fell silent. America was left trembling with sorrow.

Russia glanced around and saw that the other nations were pale and shook-up too, staring at the door. All you could hear in the room was the breathing of the nations. Suddenly, something slammed into the door and the furious roar came again. Fists pounded on the entrance until the creature seemed to give up and move on. It wasn't the end, though.

"West!" Prussia yelled through the door, making everyone wince.

"Go away!" America yelled at him, hysterical. "Just go away! We aren't letting you in so you can fuck off, zombie!" Even though his words were harsh, he was shaking and pressed himself into Russia, needing whatever comfort he could get now.

"You let Canada die! It's all your fault, America, so you can shut up!"

"He was already dead!" America screamed back, tears dripping down his face.

"America, calm down and ignore them. They'll go away if we do that, da?" America opened his mouth to scream at Russia as well, but something in his violet eyes stopped him and he slumped, defeated.

Prussia continued to call out from beyond the door, but England beckoned them all to the far side of the warehouse. Russia had to lead America there.

"I don't think that they will be leaving that door anytime soon," said England. "They'll think that sooner or later we'd have to come out, since they seem to still be thinking on some level. For some reason, there is no other door out of here. So we're going to have to break through the wall here and run for it. I think-"

A loud wail came from across the room, startling them. England coughed and continued. "I think that I should do it. If I attack the wall with a rock it won't take too long to break."

"Won't that cause a lot of noise though?" Asked Russia with America clinging to his arm. It seemed that the hero had entirely shut down, staring blankly at the floor and relying on the person he declared an enemy for comfort.

"Lotta noise," America echoed softly, lips barely moving.

"America?" England asked. "Are you ok?" He didn't answer. The British nation walked over and shook him gently, trying to ignore his proximity to the Russian giant. "Alfred," he said, trying to get a response. None came.

A sort of panic rose up in England, but he forced it down. America was usually so lively, but he had gone through a lot, and Canada talking had been traumatizing. It would be fine if they looked after him. This condition was temporary. It had to be. It would go away when he stopped the apocalypse and cured Canada. But what should they do with him in the meantime?

"I'll look after him, da?" Russia said, as if reading his thoughts.

"Ah, thank you for the offer, but-" England stopped talking as he felt the oppressive evil aura grew around Russia and the disconcerting smile on his face widened. Best to leave it to him, then.

"A-anyway, if you think it's going to be loud, what should we do about it then?"

"Can you cut through it with water?" asked Japan. "Highly pressurized water can cut through steel."

"Yes, of course, I just use this earth sword too often so I didn't think of that. France, hand over my sword."

* * *

><p>Pandas: Well, there you have it. Zombie Canada is a creeper, and their plan was kind of lame, having Zombie Prussia go off and roar in the distance while approaching.<br>Kat: Poor America. It's nice to have him quiet and all, but it's just so depressing  
>Pandas: Worry not! America will get out of his heroic bsod coma...later. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!<p> 


	25. Chapter 25

Kat: I'm sorry! I've been caught up in reading _Catching Fire_ this whole time until Saturday. I'm sorry I'm a fail, but I've gotten to the twist and I just couldn't put it down. OTL Sorry! T.T  
>Pandas: Ooh, Hunger Games. I haven't read those, I have read her first series of books though. Man, The Underland Chronicles are awesome. Ripred is the best giant rat of doom ever! ^^<br>Kat: Mmm, not ringing a bell.  
>Pandas: It wasn't as popular as the Hunger Games, but it is her first series. It's for younger readers but the whole thing is still really cool anyway ^^ Same basic message too, though...and giant rats of doom. That are awesome. And bats! Bats you can RIDE. Ohmigawd.<br>Kat: That are awesome~! lol  
>Pandas: Man, I totally recommend it. I loved that series. Ripred is THE BEST. AND ARES! AND TEMP THE...was it crawler? Actually, that series was kind of the reason I wanted pet rats in the first place -.-' though, a lot of the rats aren't nice...<br>Kat: Mm, rats. They have a lot of them in NYC, I think. Anyway, this is a long a/n already...  
>Pandas: It takes place under NYC! ^^ and yes, to the chappie.<p>

* * *

><p>"Why do I have to give you<em> ta épée<em>?" France protested. "I can handle this sword perfectly fine by myself. _Non merci, monseiur_!" he said, turning the usually polite term into a venom-filled word of hate.

"Excuse me, but should I remind you I am the one who taught you how to wield that weapon in the first place?" England's temper was rising.

"I think you forgot to mention the fact that you did it in the most sadistic way imaginable!" France's hands twitched towards the sword, itching to strike him at the next given opportunity. England narrowed his eyes and leaned slightly forward.

"We should all stop fighting and just be friends, da?" The sound of Russia's voice startled the two and they slowly shifted out of their defensive positions.

"Jus' be friens." America mindlessly repeated. England shot the younger nation a sympathetic look before sighing.

At least Italy was perked up. He recognized those three words to be part of a song title and started to sing the English parts. "Ve~ Just be friends~ All we gotta do just be friends~ It's time to say goodbye~ Just be friends~" he chimed.

Germany sighed. "Japan, I think you've shown him to many of your MMD videos."

"My apologies, _Doitsu-san_." Japan gave a small bow.

"Hello? Bastards? We still need to get the hell out of this fucking building, idiots." Romano bluntly stated. "Why can't the wine bastard cut the goddamn wall by his goddamn self, you goddamn tea bastard?"

"Romano, it's not nice to say those words to other people," Spain chided.

"Oh fuck off my fucking case." The other snapped back.

England blinked. "Er... Because he doesn't know how to properly use the sword and all. What if something went wrong?"

France steeled himself. "Of course I can. Who do you take me for?"

"Alright then, go do it."

France collected his thoughts and pointed the tip of the sword downward to the pool of water. His intense concentration had small lines forming between his eyebrows. He raised the sword and thrust it towards the wall. Water accumulated into a ball and splashed into various directions from the impact towards the hard solid. The nations tried dodging the droplets to avoid getting wet. The majority of them shot France some glares as he tried gather water to cut through the wall again.

"Well done, frog. This is exactly why I wanted to do it myself. The only thing you seem to be good at is getting things things wet."

"_Tais-toi_, _Angleterre_."

France repositioned himself once more, trying not to replicate the results of his previous failure. Luckily for him, the water finally wanted to be nice to the poor Frenchman and decided to obey his commands. France lifted the sword and liquid followed the movement of the weapon. He jerked the sword back and made slashing movements in the air. Ribbons of water launched forward like whips and cut through the air to slice into the wall. The brick could have been made of butter considering how easily the water carved into it. However, once the wall had been cut, the large slab fell with a loud thud, causing everyone in the room to jump.

"Nice, fucking bastard! Now, you're going to attract a shitload of zombies to us!"

"It's not my fault we have gravity!" England peered nervously around the hole, hoping they wouldn't run into any of the undead.

"Shut up, frog! This is not the time to argue when we have two zombies right outside." the green-eyed nation hissed.

"Right. _Je suis désolé_."

"Whatever, tea bastard."

Austria grimaced at the thought of having to run again. Hungary grabbed his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"Alright, then. Let's go." England proposed. He ducked through the hole and stepped onto the fallen slab. His eyes glanced back to see if anyone was , a disgusted expression crossed his face when he saw that France was the next to follow. The nations filed out of the building, one by one, until it was just Russia and America left. The tall nation tried to get the blonde to walk out of the warehouse with him, but he would only drag his feet. Finally, Russia scooped up America in his strong arms and carried him out bridal style.

A large blue and white truck was parked at the side of the street, providing the perfect means of escape for the nations. "Ve~ Well, that's very convenient." Italy commented. "We should get in it."

"If we can unlock it first, _idiota_."

"I'll do it." France said, and started cutting at the air with the magical sword. The manipulated liquid rose and sped over to fill in the nooks and crannies of the lock. He turned his sword and like a key, the water unlocked the door with a small click. Then, it all fell into a puddle next to the truck.

"You're learning quickly, frog." England allowed, though he was quite impressed that France was creating new techniques with the sword.

"_Merci_." said France with a mock bow. A small smile graced his lips when he realized that England had praised him for his skills, but the smile was short lived because of what was about to come.

"We're not alone, aru." Great. There was another horde of zombies stiffly walking towards the group. No one can really get a moment to themselves here, can they?

"Oh, so now these bastards decide to show up! Spain, you bastard, save me!" Romano hid behind the Spaniard he had known since he was a child.

The rest of the nations prepared themselves to fight, and of course Italy was waving his little white flag. Russia stood America behind himself and drew out his pipe. The undead grew nearer and nearer with Canada and Prussia at the front. "Alfred." Canada called down the street. The blonde lifted his head and peered around Russia to find the source of the the voice.

"Mattie," America's voice was barely above a whisper. He stared off into the distance, and gasped in horror as he saw what had become of his brother when he broke through his trance. The violet eyes were now dull, lifeless orbs, void of any light. Patches of grey rot creeped up his neck and started to spread to his face. The same was with Prussia. The bite marks from before were still bleeding. No, this was not his brother. This was not his were monsters.

Tears welled up in the young nation's eyes and he didn't bother to hold them back. "Mattie, what happened to you?" He tried to walk around Russia, who held him back with a restraining hand.

"No, America. We have to leave him."

"No, Alfred. You've seen what happened the last time you've left me. You ignored me. I'm like this now because of your fault." Those eyes, he just wanted his old brother back. Why didn't he appreciate Canada before?

"No, it's not my fault!" America screamed back. "You're lying! This isn't my fault!"

"America, that's enough." Russia said. He rubbed soothing circles into the other's back, trying to calm him.

England watched the exchange and debated his next move. He sighed. It was better if they left now, since Alfred was in an emotional wreck. He took one step closer to the horde. "I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, Canada. It's for your own good."The nation raised his sword and slammed it to the ground. Tremors shook the earth beneath them all and tall pillars of rocks erupted below. They formed a tight circle around all the zombies and all curved toward each other to create a dome-like shape. The fixture resembled a bird cage.

"What the hell?" Prussia yelled. "West! Get me out of here!" He wrapped his hands around one of the pillars and tried to break the hard stone. "West!"

"That should give us a head start. We have to go now." England opened the door and ignored the roars from the zombies behind him. "Who's driving?"

"Ve~ I could!" Italy volunteered. Fear was on everyone's face when they thought about how dangerous Italy's driving could be. No thank you, but they would all like to stay out of that near death experience.

"Maybe it would be better if _Doitsu_ drove this time, _Italia-kun_." Japan suggested. Italy's face fell a little, but he nodded.

"Right. Get in the truck, Italy." Germany ordered. The Italian scampered up to the seat and Germany slid in after him. "Put on your seat belt."

"Ve~ Germany, I don't like it." Italy whined.

"We are not going to break any laws, so put on your seat belt this instant." Italy whimpered and did what he was told reluctantly.

The rest of the group opened the back of the empty truck and crawled into it. "Come, America. We need to go, da?" Russia offered his hand to the other nation, who only stared at it. When America made no move, the Russian once again carried the younger nation in his arms. That was when the blonde broke out of his new trance.

"No, no!" America struggled in the other's arms, not wanting to keep on running, keep on hiding. "I won't go!" Russia ignored his thrashing and hoisted him into the back of the truck, closing the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Kat: It's nice to have Romano around to channel my anger. Sorry if the majority of the characters sound like they're very irritable. It's just not my day. T.T<br>Pandas: Romano is the best...but then again so is everybody ^^  
>Kat: Aha, the beginning of this chapter was like my little punching bag. Sorry everyone.<br>Pandas: It's totally fine, dude. Everyone needs punching bags.  
>Kat: Yeah, especially when stuff happens... Like... stuff... Ah, I got nothing. T.T<p> 


	26. Chapter 26

Pandas: I'm sorry, I've been sick for a good chunk of the week, and working too, so this chapter is pathetically short and not as well written as I'd've liked. I did have more planned and I will upload that later this week, I promise you. I am so sorry. Also, we are near the 100th reviewer, so we should do something for that.

Kat: Hai, hai. We should do something to make up for all the delays we've encountered, yes?

Pandas: Da. But something special for the 100th. I didn't think we'd get this many, honestly. Thank you all~!

By the time Russia closed the big door at the back of the truck America was silent again, staring off into space and looking heartbroken. He was sitting cross-legged on the bare floor as was everyone else in the empty truck. Someone had thought to bring the duffel bags, and these were placed up against the side wall. Having nothing better to do, Russia sat next to America as the truck started to move.

The other nation immediately curled up against him to sleep, hands clutching the fabric of his clothing as his head rested on his shoulder. Russia let him, knowing that today's events had been traumatizing. Then the truck went over a bump, America's head fell into his lap, and Hungary let out a squeal. She was trying to forget the events of today by focusing on her yaoi obsession. Russia smiled at her menacingly, and she directed her attention to Spain and Romano.

The two were next to each other near the end of the container, and Romano was trying in vain to listen to what was going on with his brother and the potato bastard. Spain was leaning against him, smiling at the proximity, but other than that nothing interesting was happening.

So finally she looked to France and England, the British nation looking to America worriedly, apparently not noticing France leaning in close to him. Japan was watching them too, and China and Austria both were looking disapprovingly upon the two who were spying.

France wrapped an arm around England's waist and pulled him closer, and was met by a string of curses from the angry Brit. He was not in the mood for France's advances right now. But the Frenchman was not trying to molest him as he had thought. The other man knew England was concerned about his ex-colony, and spoke comforting words in a low voice. Somewhat reluctantly, England relaxed against him.

A gloomy mood settled over them all, with nothing to distract them from dark thoughts except the company of others. They stayed in their little groups, and one by one dropped off into slumber despite the rough rocking of the vehicle.

Pandas: I apologize a million times over, but I promise I will add a second chapter up this week before Sunday. I did have something planned out and I plan to write it and publish before Kat's chapter is done, but I've been under the weather and unexpected things came up. I SWEAR that the rest of this will be up soon. This iss my fault, and I feel terrible for disappointing you T.T


	27. Chapter 27

Pandas: I'm really sorry about the chapter being short last time and it being late now. I might have mentioned that I was sick for a couple days, but it turns out I fell way farther behind than I thought and I'm still catching up now, thanks to a couple projects for different classes. I may not be able to write for a couple updates, so because of this Kat is kind of taking over of this fic for a bit. I wrote the first half of this chapter, and she wrote the rest.  
>Kat: Hope you can catch up, aru. T.T And I apologize that this ending isn't the best, for this was a short notice arrangement. Sumimasen.<p>

* * *

><p>"Hey, hey, Germany~" Italy said, poking the other nation's hand. This might not have been the smartest move, as Germany was currently trying his best to avoid hitting the zombies racing towards the truck. Well, racing might not be the right word. More like jerkily shuffling closer as fast as was possible with their rotting limbs. Anyway, they were becoming obstacles, and Germany didn't want to hit them for fear of damaging the truck and dooming them all. This was harder than it sounded, because the truck was big and graceless and very different from what the German was used to driving.<p>

"Hey, Germany~" Italy tried again, this time poking the man's face.

"Italy, don't distract me! I'm trying to drive!" the German said, not taking his eyes off the road.

"But, Germany...I have something important to tell you. And...there might not be another chance...because...Germany, everyone is dying! I'm scared!" Italy flung himself onto the other's arm and started to cry.

"Alright, Italy, I'll listen, just let go!" Germany conceded, having trouble steering. The other nation sat back in his own seat, the flow of tears halted.

"You will?" he asked, wiping away the last few.

"Ya, what is it?"

"Well, Germany..." Italy began. "This may sound strange, but...I like you. No...um...ti amo."

Unfortunately for Italy, Germany had just encountered a giant mass of zombies and had to swerve onto another street, so he completely missed that last part. Instead, Germany thought Italy just wanted assurance of their friendship at this dangerous time. "Yes, Italy. We'll look out for each other through this, like friends should do."

Italy sunk back in his seat and pouted for a bit. Friends? Germany just wasn't understanding him. But how was he supposed to tell him his true feelings if he didn't understand?

An idea hit him, and he sat up again. "Hey, hey, Germany, can I have a kiss?" He leaned over, hoping Germany would now get it.

"Not now, Italy," he replied. "I have to drive." After all, he didn't feel like he had time for what he thought would be cheek-kissing.

Italy withdrew again, pouting. Was Germany just pretending not to get it, to avoid the whole thing? Maybe he was still embarrassed about the Valentine's Day incident. But ever since then, Italy had been thinking about what it would be like to date Germany, and the idea became more and more appealing. There must be some way to have Germany realize what he was actually saying, even if it was a bit drastic.

"Germany?" Italy asked tentatively. If he didn't get this, Italy would give up.

"Ja, Italy? What is it now?"

"Let's have sex." Italy whispered into Germany's ear.

This is not something you should say suddenly to someone who's driving, especially if that person happens to be German. The truck swerved and almost crashed into a building before Germany recovered from the shock and just barely managed to avoid it.

"Ve~, do you get it now?" Italy asked happily. Germany tried to answer, but when he opened his mouth all that came out was a unintelligible groan. Italy's eyes widened and he sunk back, upset. "Oh. Germany doesn't feel the same way..."

"I-Italy...it's not...don't say that type of thing when I'm driving!" Germany said. Italy didn't answer. The German focused on steering the car for a bit, then tried to talk again. "You...you shouldn't say that type of thing to someone you aren't even dating!"

"I didn't really mean it, Germany. You just weren't getting it, so...I had to do something."

"Well...hmm... I... Italy... Maybe now's not the best time to talk about this. Can we discuss this later?"

Italy looked up at Germany through his half-lidded eyes. A frown pulled down the corners of his mouth, looking unnatural on the usually happy Italian. He slowly nodded his head. "A-alright."

"Mm... Okay." The German continued to focus on driving for the rest of the trip. An uncomfortable silence settled between the two, and neither one of them knew what to say to the other. Italy lowered his gaze back down to the folded hands in his lap. His ahoge drooped slightly, a clear indication to a certain German about how upset Italy was. Unfortunately, Germany had to be obsessed with the traffic laws and safety issues to notice. Poor Italy.

Briefly disrupting Germany from the heavy atmosphere, a group of twenty or so zombies rounded the corner of the street and staggered toward the moving vehicle. "_Verdammt_!" the blond muttered in frustration. He scanned the undead corpses to search for a familiar face of a nation. Luckily, none of the monsters had remotely resembled one of his former colleagues. Good, that meant he didn't have to take as much caution as he would have if they were. Gritting his teeth, Germany stepped harder on the gas and accelerated towards the mass. He turned the steering wheel to the far left and the truck swerved to the side of the horde. A stray zombie was hit by the several tons of metal and was thrown back into the air. The vehicle buckled from the unexpected interference and the nations in the back were tossed to the side, while Germany and Italy were less jostled from the seat belts.

Normally, Italy would be clinging tightly to the German's arm, but he only sat there quietly. He didn't even flinch from the impact. The Italian still stared into his empty hands. Germany glanced over to the motionless figure, not knowing what to do.

"Hey... Italy?"

No answer.

"_Italien_? Are you okay?"

The only one who responded was silence. Worry lines creased Germany's forehead and he nervously licked his lips. He kept glancing back and forth between the road and his friend. No, silence was his new friend. Silence now replaced the Italy he had known ever since the Great War, otherwise known as World War I.

"Italy, say something." His voice had risen a pitch. "Italy." He slowed the truck in order to take a longer look at him. The smaller man's shoulders rose and fell quickly and his breathing got shallow. His long bangs were like curtains, concealing his honey colored eyes, but they could not hide what they shed. Something bright dribbled down from Italy's face and fell onto the sun kissed skin of his hand. Germany only stared in confusion at the liquid, not comprehending what was happening. Then logic hit him. The German's own eyes widened in shock at the Italian. More tears fled the source to join the first one. Germany's voice filled with horror and sorrow. It softened to barely above a whisper. "Italy."

He could no longer contain the rejection within him. The tears streamed down to his chin and small sobs choked their way up to the surface. His hands moved to the sides of the seat, needing something solid to hold onto. They clenched the leather tightly in fists. More violent sobs came and racked his body. He shuddered like a lonely leaf in an unforgiving, wintry breeze. His whole frame trembled. He couldn't take being in the truck anymore. Italy clicked the button to release the seat belt and he tore it out of its slot. He grabbed the handle and flung the door open.

"Italy, wait!" A startled Germany stomped on the brake, grasped the other's hand, and pulled it towards himself. Italy half-yelped as he was falling backwards towards the blond. The German caught him and spun him around so that he was looking at his face. His eyes were red and puffy, and tears still flowed from them. He took in the image, very hesitant to react. Finally, Germany held the back of the Italian's head in his hand, leaned in, and touched his lips to Italy's soft, pink ones.

* * *

><p>Kat: Hi, sorry that this is short. T.T There wasn't enough time to work on this. OTL<br>Pandas: I am sorry also, as this was supposed to be my chapter T.T  
>Kat: It's not your fault that you were sick.<br>Pandas: I know, but...damn my immune system.


	28. Chapter 28

Kat: Hey~ Aha I love my upperclassmen. They're so nice, ve~ I love high school~! ^^ Also, I apologize in advance if there are any mistakes in here because some of this was done on my kindle fire. And **DISCLAIMER**: We do not own Hetalia! It belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya and the dub belongs to Funimation! Don't sue us!  
>Pandas: What about Studio DEEN? (I have popped in for a short period of time, hello T.T) And hasn't it been forever since we reminded people we own nothing?<br>Kat: Yup! It feels like it. It's what, like 2 or 3 months? Aha...

* * *

><p>Germany pushed himself away from Italy, ending the short kiss. A light blush dusted his cheeks from not being accustomed to showing such affection. He looked down at the Italian, whose eyes had closed during the kiss. Confused, he slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the blond. His fingertips gingerly reached up to his own lips as if in disbelief. "Ve, Germany?"<p>

Just when Germany was about to ask Italy something, zombies roared and screeched in the distance. "_Scheiße_," he cursed. His hand shot out to Italy's still open door and slammed it shut.

Italy was nearly hysterical from fear. "Ve! Germany, save us!" The nation hugged the German's arm tightly and burrowed his face into his sleeve.

"Italy, put on your seat belt!"

"Ve! There's no time!"

"Ngh... Fine!" He stomped on the gas pedal and they sped away from the oncoming division.

The countries in the back jerked to the front of the container from the sudden stop, and found themselves in a tangle with each other. Russia still held America securely in his arms, and France and England had somehow intertwined with each other. The Brit's cheeks were rose colored and he muttered something under his breath when he tried to separate himself from the frog. The same could be said for the rest of the couples, such as Hungary and Austria, and Spain and Romano. Although, it was awkward for the last pair because Spain had somehow ended up lying on top of Romano. As expected, Romano shouted profanities and unsuccessfully tried shoving the Spaniard off him. "What the fuck! Get the hell off me, you tomato bastard!"

"Aw, Lovi~! Is that you?" Romano felt something prod at his cheek, and it was really annoying. "Lovi, your cheeks are warm. Are you blushing? That's so cute!" As oblivious as ever, Spain cooed at the unhappy Italian.

"Shut up, _idiota_! I'm not blushing." Romano retaliated. Stupid Spain. Of course he wasn't blushing! He's too manly to blush. He was... uh... flushed! Yeah, he was flushed from the effort of pushing against Spain's chest. Aha, silly Romano.

"Romano! You and Spain look so cute together~!" Hungary gushed over them, and quite loudly too, much to Romano's embarrassment.

Romano growled. "Just get the fuck off me already, will you!"

"Wait, not yet! I need to get a picture!" Hungary patted her pockets for something to take a picture with, but found nothing of the sort. "Shoot! I don't have my camera on me!" Romano silently smiled at this. Great, he didn't need to get this documented.

"Hold on, Hungary-chan. I love to take my camera everywhere I go because of my shortness. It allows me to see higher in case I want to take pictures of things." So Japan fished out his small... God, that was a camera? It looked so advanced and shit! No doubt that it was straight from Tokyo or wherever. Damn, FML.

"Really! Give it to me. Quick, before they move!"

"Shit! Get off me, _bastardo_!" Romano managed to knee Spain in the stomach, which caused to other to roll off him in momentary pain.

"Aiyah, Japan, aru. It's not polite to invade into other people's private lives, aru!" China complained.

"Awww. Romano, you're no fun." Hungary pouted. Romano could only glare because of his morals, which prevented him to cuss at women.

All heads snapped towards the metal door of the truck from the sudden banging on the other side. Unnatural screeching interrupted the bickering among them. Romano yelped and tried to hide behind Spain. "Oh, shit! Why can't the potato bastard fucking drive already?"

As if on cue, the truck lurched forward, causing everyone to slide to the other end of the container. Unlike last time, Romano found himself laying on top of Antonio.

"Wait!" There was a small _ka-chck!_ followed by a bright flash of light that momentarily blinded the Italian, and a small chime of bells. The white slowly faded away from his vision while outlines of the others emerged. "It's so cute! Japan, look at this picture!" Was that Hungary? Wait... what picture?

"God, damnit! Hungary, you did not just take a fucking picture!" he screeched, in a manly way of course. Boohoo, just fuck his morals right now. Romano quickly got up, but almost fell down from how the vehicle was still moving. "Give me that goddamn camera!" He stumbled across some nations and angrily marched toward the female. She looked around, not knowing what to do.

"Japan, catch!" Hungary threw the object into the air to the Asian's direction. The small man panicked and just barely caught it. He fumbled it in his hands, not feeling safe in his possession. Then, the camera fell on France's face, who just happened to be lying right next to Japan.

"Ow! What the hell?" Francis grabbed the camera and was about to chuck it to some random corner, until he saw the image. He smiled pervertedly. "Onhonhonhonhon~ Looks like someone's been a naughty boy, _non_?"

"France, what are you going on about now?" England said. The Frenchman spoke not a word as he shoved the incriminating picture in front of said Englishman's face. His cheeks returned to the rosy color from before. "I regret asking." His voice was quiet.

"Chigi! Delete it!" Romano screamed at the two. France drew the object back to himself, and seemed to think about what he was going to do.

"Mm... _non_. I don't think so." He tossed it back to Hungary. A wide grin was plastered on her. She quickly took the camera and stowed it up her shirt before Romano could reach for it.

Romano looked in horror, and turned his head to the side in a vain attempt to hide the color creeping up his cheeks. Hungary only laughed. "Want it now, Romano?" she teased.

"N-no way in hell! I'm not going there!" God, why did he have to be so embarrassed? Fine. He'll find some other way to steal it from her eventually. Everyone else besides him, China, England, Austria, and a certain American laughed at how meek Romano was. God damnit, Romano thought.

* * *

><p>Kat: I'm sorry that this is so short! I just didn't know how to continue and Pandas doesn't seem to be here at the moment. I'm assuming that she's still probably making up her missed school work or something.<p> 


	29. Chapter 29

Kat: Happy Memorial Day because the majority of our readers are from the U.S.A. I hope that you all had a great break~ Also, the internet decided to go on strike to Pandas just like in that World Series episode talking about France (except not with the possessed kettle, that would be weird). Anyway, since I am haunted with writer's block as of this moment, I'm going to use a time skip of about four to five hours. Because of this, I'm estimating that they would be close to Canada's border if not there already. Gosh darnit, why does this road trip to Canada have to take so long T.T Why do you have to be so far away, Matthieu? orz Also, in the last chapter, I kinda got the feeling that some viewers thought that America was laughing along with the other nations at Romano. That is not the case... I guess I failed at making that clearer. orz **DISCLAIMER: **We do not own Hetalia or any Apple products.

* * *

><p>Although the majority of the nations had already succumbed to a dreamless sleep, others struggled to stay awake. The ones sleeping were either leaning on other countries or lying on the cold floor of the metal container. Russia, France, and England were sitting up in their own separate spaces, trying their best not to disturb the sleeping. Still in his stupor, America was curled up in a tight ball near Russia. His eyes refused to close, not wanting to drift into the realm of dreams. America couldn't sleep, because he could only see the bloody face of his former brother behind his eyelids. His voice still rang in his ears. '<em>I'm like this now because of your fault.<em>' America brought his knees closer to his face and he covered his head with his arms, as if it would help shield him from the negative thoughts. Russia reached over to place a hand on the younger man's back and rubbed it comfortingly. He lowered his head down to him and whispered reassuring phrases into his ears.

On the other side of the container, England was slowly inching away from a certain frog. If he was ever going to fall asleep, he would never have it near France. Unfortunately for the Englishman, Francis noticed his attempt at escape. His hand reached over and held Arthur's wrist in a firm grip. "Where are you going, _mon cher_?" he said sleepily.

England cringed from the unexpected contact. "Get off me," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Why? What did I do?"

"It is not about what you did do, it is about what you are going to do. To be quite frank, I'd like to make it through this damnable apocalypse with my virginity."

"Why do you always think I'm going to rape you?"

"Because I still haven't forgotten the time you dragged me off somewhere after I refused to merge with you."

"What did you expect me to do? I was growing weak."

"Was? You still are."

"_Vraiment?_ Do you want to start a fight with Big Brother?"

"Bring it, frog. Feel the wrath of my Britannia Fist!"

"Oi, bastards! Keep it down. Do you have any idea of what time it is?" Romano picked himself off of Spain and sat against the wall for support. He feebly glared at the two despite how tired he felt.

"I'm sorry, Romano. I was... um..."

"I don't give a fuck about what you were doing." And with that, Romano lied down next to Spain and tried to go back to sleep.

England sighed and looked to his watch, trying to read the time. "If it wasn't so dark I would be able to see the time," he muttered under his breath.

France reached into his back pocket and pulled out his iPhone. He pressed the small, circular button, and the screen illuminated with a background, of him blowing a kiss to the camera person, nonetheless, and the time. "It's nearly ten," he announced.

The emerald-colored eyes shot daggers at the Frenchman. "What are you doing with that? We were not allowed to bring our mobiles to the meeting."

"_Angleterre_, it would be nice if we can sit in each others presence without starting another argument, _oui_." England gritted his teeth. He hated it when the frog was reasonable.

The truck came to a slow stop, causing the ones who weren't sleeping to look around in confusion. Were they there yet? No, it wasn't possible, considering that Germany drives at 96 km/h, and Canada's capital was about 720 km away from the metropolitan area they fled from.

A small click came from behind the door before it rolled open. Two silhouettes were lurking behind them as they opened. One was strongly built and masculine, while the other had a small figure and a signature hair curl. The slumbering stirred from the sound, but still remained asleep. "Everyone wake up. We have to find a safe house to spend the night in," the manly one spoke in a gruff voice.

"Здравствуйте, Germany," Russia said formally.

"_Ja, hallo, Russland_." Germany gave a small wave to the other. "Come on, let's get moving. I don't want to see another group of zombies anytime soon. Wake up." He raised his voice in an attempt to at least rouse some of the nations.

China groaned a little. "_Aiyah_, aru. What can a man do to get some sleep, aru?" He lazily got off the floor, into a sitting position, and stretched out his arms. "_Wei_. Japan, aru." He nudged the sleeping nation. "Japan, aru. Wake up. You too, Hungary, aru."

Hungary sat up and groggily rubbed at her eyes. "Really, can't a girl make up for her jetlag. It was already annoying trying to adjust to this time zone. Hey, Austria. If I'm forced to wake up, you are too."

"Chigi, what's with all the talking?" Lovino woke up angrily, again...

"Lovi, what's wrong?" Spain yawned.

"Ve~ Yay, everyone's awake now~!" Italy said in a sing-song voice.

"Shut up, idiota. Wait... What the hell? How come you're still not sleepy?"

Italy cocked his head to the side. "Ve~ I missed my siesta before, so I took a nap on the way here~!"

"Alright, enough talk about sleep. Shall we go and find a hideout now?" England suggested.

"Ve~ Yeah! That's why we stopped here anyway. Me and Germany found this nice house around the block that we can sleep in."

"It's 'Germany and I.'" England corrected.

"Ve? What did you and Germany do?"

The blonde haired and blue-eyed man beside him nearly face palmed. "Nothing, _Italien_."

"Ve. Okay~" The brunette wrapped himself onto Germany's arm and gave it a hug, much to Romano's disapproval.

"Oi, how many times have I told you to stay away from the potato bastard, idiot!"

"Ve. But _fratello_, Germany's so cuddly!"

Said German blushed at the comment. "Right... Anyway, I parked the truck right in front of the house. We should go." He turned around and walked away to the building, Italy happily following all the way.

The other nations stood and hopped out of the truck's end. They all walked out to the side of the vehicle, Russia staying behind to help America out and locking the door behind them.

The house was a two story building with white siding and a pale blue paint-job. A silver wind-chime was hanging out in the front porch. A few potted plants sat on the white, wooden railing of the porch, and there were more bordering the stone steps leading to it. There was no car in the driveway, a good sign. Hopefully there wasn't any zombies roaming inside the home.

"I have to admit, I do feel a bit guilty for breaking into someone else's home," England said quietly.

"Stop complaining. At least it's going to be safer than staying inside the truck all night," France retorted. "Russia, do you think that you can pick the lock again?"

"Of course I can." His footsteps echoed through the empty neighborhood as he walked up the black asphalt. He removed the straightened paper clip and the hairpin from his pocket. Once in front of the door, he inserted them in and felt around for the tumblers. With a click, the door was unlocked and Russia swung it open. He walked in and was enveloped into the darkness within.

* * *

><p>Kat: Hey, sorry that this was so short, I just didn't know how to continue with this. I'll figure it out, or maybe Pandas will, who is still not here yet as of this moment. Why does technology always have to fail on us? Anyway, it's late, and I'm tired. <em>Buenas noches<em>~


	30. Chapter 30

Pandas: Oh, hey, look, I'm not dead! It's a great feeling, being able to return after hours of researching Romeo and Juliet for my essay as well as Russia for History. (Not that researching Russia is bad, and I already knew what I needed to know, I was just required to find books that supported my claims because for some reason...MY RATS ARE RUNNING ON THE WHEEL AT THE SAME TIME. Um. That was random, I grant, but they haven't done this before and they're so CUTE! ^^ and they were running in opposite directions so Luna got flipped to the top of the wheel and fell! ^^ Um. Anyway...for some reason the internet is an evil source of lies, even the BBC website. Yeah. So that was annoying, and I had to go to the library and check things out and make sure it had the information that I already knew. But I digress, and you probably don't care. TLDR: I'm back from a torturous existence of catching up in school. And it feels so GOOD. (Also, I'm going to try and work on imagery in this chapter, because I can be terrible with it.)  
>Kat: (just came) Hi, I'm sorry I haven't been here earlier, Pandas! Sumimasen orz<br>Pandas: It's fine~!

* * *

><p>Russia felt around the wall for a switch, found it, and flicked it on. Nothing happened. He hadn't expected it to work, but one could try. He retrieved a flashlight and switched it on.<p>

With the house now somewhat illuminated, one could see that it had been decorated and arranged with care, though it didn't belong in a showroom. The shadows clinging to the corners also made it seem more sinister. It would have been inviting at daytime, the interior betraying signs of being lived in without being unbearably messy. The green-carpeted front hallway led into a living room with the same dark flooring, a couch on the far wall draped in blankets and pillows. A short table in front of it was covered with a checkered red tablecloth that didn't fit the primarily cream and blue room. A slightly outdated tv sat on a dresser in front of it, a white gaming console beside it piled with games on top. Next to it was a bookshelf that held only movies and games, the collection being quite extensive but dusty from sitting there for a while. The actual bookshelf however, built into the wall above the couch, was cluttered with knickknacks and heavily worn books with eclectic titles like Fablehaven, Soulless, The Fall of the Roman Empire, Harry Potter, One for the Money, Artemis Fowl, and many others. In the corner next to the couch was piled colorful building blocks, a tower half finished.

A short wooden flight of steps going up was on the other side of the hall, another concrete one beyond it led down to what must be the basement, and closed double doors that were a mixture of glass squares and wood led from the first room into another. The nations decided to split up with Germany, Italy, and a catatonic America left in the hallway with the duffel bags, Spain and Romano inspecting the other room, Russia, China and Japan going to the basement, and Hungary, Austria, England and France exploring upstairs.

Spain pushed open the door to the darkened room slowly, Romano behind him. Inside there was a treadmill to the right, a loft bed to the left with a chair matching the couch in the other room under it, and a rack of laundered clothing preventing the door from fully opening. A tiny window was above the treadmill, looking out onto a night-cloaked patio. The room was cluttered and seemed more like a storage space for the family. Two doors, a solid white one with a lock and a less sturdy wooden one, were on the right and left ends of the room, respectively.

Unlocking and opening the one to the right, they found it contained a spacious garage with two spots for cars, both gone. Since the door could be tightly shut, they decided not to explore the dark, cavernous, and cluttered space with many hiding places.

Moving onto the next door, they found a small bathroom with a glass shower to the right and a salmon colored counter on the other side of the room. A washing machine sat beside a dryer to the left of the room. The tiny window next to glass shelves above the toilet to the right was useless, as someone had placed a large potted plant outside it. An empty dog box sat between the shower and the toilet.

Romano looked with disdain at the shower. "What kind of bastard would need a fucking clear shower with a window right there, dammit?"

"Lovi, you shouldn't say that about people!" Spain exclaimed, looking at the other nation.

"That window is a fucking bad idea!" Romano said. "Whatever bastard planned this place was a retard. If the wine bastard knew this was here-"

"Lovi!" Spain cried. "Why would you say bad things about my friend?"

"Because he's a fucking perverted wine bastard! Why the hell is that dick your friend anyway?"

"We have shared interests."

"You goddamn bastard!" Romano stormed out of the room and back into the hallway.

* * *

><p>Russia descended the concrete steps that someone had painted an ugly light blue with China and Japan behind him. The sides and middle of the room were cluttered, leaving a circular path around the area. They went right, past a white plastic industrial sink and several shelves of Christmas paraphernalia. A vacuum was also against the wall and cleaning materials hung from the ceiling in mesh containers. A litter box was at the back of the room on top of a table, a bag of litter and a scoop next to it.<p>

"They had a kitty, aru!" China exclaimed, thinking of a certain famous feline character.

"It would seem so," Japan said. "I wonder if it's all right."

"I'm wondering if they can get infected, da?" Russia said. "That wouldn't be fun at all! Cats are hard to hit with a pipe~!" The Asians looked at him in horror. Russia either didn't notice or didn't care, continuing to follow the circle.

"Aiyah, aru! Why would you kill poor kitty, aru? Kitty is nice friend to have, aru!" China was flailing his arms around, the sleeves of his oversized dress shirt going in all directions.

"But it is an evil cat, da? You must grab its little head in your hands and squeeze the skull until it shatters, da?" His evil aura was intensified by the thought.

"Poor kitty, aru!" China shrunk back into a corner, hoping that his own skull would stay intact.

On that side of the room seemed to be a station for clothing repairs, an old dress that might have been from the 50s hanging from the ceiling and a ripped pair of jeans lying on a counter next to a sewing kit. Japan looked at the dress critically, thinking about its potential to be converted into a cute lolita outfit. The idea might have lightened his mood if not for Russia mentioning murdering zombie cats a minute prior.

Making their way back to the stairs, they almost missed a disturbing sight. Red was splattered over the floor in all directions, a sharp contrast to the rest of the dull coating.

"Do you think it's..." China trailed off in shock, thinking of a cat's twisted corpse lying in that space. What Russia said before came back to the front of his mind as it was flooded with images of terrible cat death.

"It's paint." Russia said, amused. "I thought that you would know by now the difference between blood and paint, da? It doesn't look like there have been people here for days. Blood would be dark and cracked by now."

"Oh. Oh, of course, aru! I knew that, aru! I was going to ask if you thought it was...scarlet or crimson, aru!"

"It appears to be more of a scarlet, Chuugoku-san," Japan said calmly.

China grumbled under his breath. "-scarlet. What was I thinking, aru?"

"We should go back up to the others now, da?" Russia interjected. He continued back to the stairs, unaffected by the small episode, courtesy of China. The giant, compared to the other two, didn't bother to make sure that Japan and China were following. Back to the stubborn Chinese man, his rant was cut short from Russia's sudden announcement.

"Aiyah, aru! That is not the proper way to leave an elder, aru. Come back here, aru!" Russia ignored this. "You need to learn some manners, aru!"

Japan only sighed. This was going to be an eventful night.

* * *

><p>Pandas: And we're done! Imma go sleep. Imma go sleep for a long, long time.<br>Kat: Just don't oversleep and miss the bus, aru.  
>Pandas: I never miss the bus. Usually.<br>Kat: Je ne manque jamais le bus~  
>Pandas: ...I do not know what that means. Manque, I mean. Does that mean miss? I'm guessing it does. Because that is the only thing it could mean, in context. Yeah.<p> 


	31. Chapter 31

Pandas: Hello, darlings~! It's near finals time so I wish you all well on that, my dears. Hopefully, we shall not have to take off time for it, and equally hopefully, our 100th reviewer will get her story soon T.T I will be doing this week again, seeing as Kat did 3 weeks in a row so I should too. 'Twas 3, wasn't it?  
>Kat: Yup. Three it was. Okay, now the thunder is louder T.T Is it quieter at your place, Pandas?<br>Pandas: No, it's louder here too. Rats be cowering in their little...OH MY GOD THAT WAS LOUD.  
>Kat: I heard that too T.T I hate thunder, it's scary.<br>Pandas: Like a sky giant be throwing its chair 'cuz it lost its tiny statuettes. Sky giants be lovin' their tiny statuettes.'Specially their ruby dragon, marble snow giant, and emerald chimera.

* * *

><p>Hungary climbed the short steps first, with Austria, France, and England trailing not far behind. They came into a living room with a large bay window looked out into the front yard. Being inside now, they saw what they had thought was a two-story house was actually a split level, another longer flight of stairs reaching up into a shadowy corridor. On this level it was open concept, a large arch leading into the clean white kitchen with outdated appliances. In the living area that took up half the floor, a faded but intricate rug lay over the floor, covering the light wooden boards. Matching dark leather couch, loveseat, and chair bordered it. A wooden grand piano with ivory keys was in the corner, looking old and worn.<p>

Going through the arch into the white kitchen that took up a quarter of the floor, they found nothing terribly special. It was obvious that the dishwasher was broken by the washing up left near the sink and the drying rack filled to the brim. A dark microwave that didn't quite blend with the whiteness sat forlornly under the cabinets, pushed there carelessly. An old fashioned tea kettle sat on the stove, the metal dull.

"I'd give anything to get that stove to work," England said forlornly, missing his morning tea. He hadn't mentioned it, but he had a headache from the tea withdrawal. Nasty business. Almost as bad as the zombiefication rotting a part of his body, which he also didn't discuss.

"Couldn't you just heat it up with your fire snake?" France asked. England looked stunned by this revelation, but composed himself quickly.

"O-of course not, frog! I'd just melt the metal!" There was no way he would admit the frog might be correct, not even for tea.

"Then I'll try," France said, drawing his sword and pointing it at the pot. Nothing happened. He remembered that emotions manipulated the sword, so he tried to be angry. Anger sounded like the type of emotion that'd heat something.

"You didn't even check to see if there is water in it, frog," England pointed out.

"Oh. I was...trying to see if I could feel if there was. Through the sword."

"I doubt you could, frog, with your mediocre skills."

Hungary sighed, picked it up, and sloshed it around. "There's already water in here, and at least he's trying to be nice by making tea. Now stop with the bickering and kiss each other already!"

England turned a curious shade of red, thoughts about what happened in the storage room of the abandoned prison returning unbidden. How could he have let that happen? The frog was obviously just trying to make him a temporary lover. England had seen him go through enough of them to know they didn't catch his interest for long. Rage took the place of the embarrassment and the British nation glared at France.

France looked back at him, amused, and said, "Angleterre does not seem to like that idea."

"Of course not, you perverted tosser! Just boil the water!" England huffed and searched around the cabinets for tea bags and cups. He found plates, glasses, and cereals, among other things, before he located a big cabinet with many different varieties of tea on the left and assorted mugs on the right. There was none of that pathetic American-brand tea in this cabinet, either. All of it had been imported from England. When he saw this, England felt a sudden connection to the people who had lived here.

"No wonder this kitchen is terrible. It was owned by Englishmen," France said, forgetting his task. England made a very rude gesture in his direction.

England reached in and pulled out a brand of black tea that he was particularly fond of. He selected the largest mug, a bright red one with "Hello? Is it tea you're looking for?" written in white script on the side.

France had again turned to the kettle and was attempting to be angry at it. He found his thoughts drifting to just before the French revolution, when his people were starving in the streets and the royals had turned away and lived palace far away from Paris, ignoring even his basic needs. Outrage welled inside him at the memory, and he attempted to channel that anger toward the water. He could feel it working, and after a minute the shrill whistle signaling that it had boiled rang throughout the room.

Quickly England grabbed it and opened it to release the steam. He then poured the water into his cup with the tea bag and set it down to brew. After this, he felt much happier. Tea, real British tea, wasn't far off. A small smile crept onto his lips. It was short lived.

"Could you two hurry up?" said Austria. "We should be inspecting the house."

"Then you can go and inspect that room there," said France, waving at another arch into the final quarter of this floor. From where France stood, he could see shelves, big windows covered by blinds, and a table, though he hadn't bothered to look before.

"We already have," Hungary said. "While you were boiling tea. It's just a dining room with another tv."

"Oh. Well, you can go upstairs and look there then."

"Don't bother," England said. "My tea's done. I expect it's too much to hope that the milk isn't expired, and I don't want to risk it. All I need now is some sugar." Some had been found in another cabinet, so it was a simple matter to fetch it and put it in. He wrapped his hands around the warm mug and took a sip, his mood instantly improved.

They ascended the stairs one at a time, Hungary going first again. There was a small alcove off to the left with doors to a bathroom and a linen closet that was stuffed to the brim there. The walls of the bathroom had been decorated with groups of tiny colorful fish that had been carefully painted. Other than that, the room was nothing special, with beige walls, a mirrored medicine cabinet, a wooden cabinet, white toilet and sink, and an ugly salmon colored bath that doubled as a shower with bubble glass sliding doors.

The Frenchman grinned at the sight of the shower, earning him a glare from England. "Interesting design choice, non?" he asked, directing his gaze now to the other man.

"Quiet, you bloody wanker."

* * *

><p>Pandas: Well, there seem to be a lot of glass showers in this house. Unfortunately, I am basing mostly all of this after someone's house I know of and frequent ^^' Only one doesn't have glass doors, and they have three showers -.-'<br>Kat: Yes, that is not a smart idea.  
>Pandas: Quite.<p> 


	32. Chapter 32

Pandas: I cannot believe there are already 32 chapters of this fanfiction...man, we've been writing this for nearly 9 months! That's long enough for a baby to be conceived and born!  
>Kat: Right! Wait... what? And also, I've been having this internal debate about this plot bunny I have, and I need your help, dear readers. You see, it's a bit of a spin-off from the typical VampireXGirl story. The girl is a reincarnation of his past lover, who died 2 centuries ago. Set in the early 1800s, Corinna Montescu is admired by many men, yet refuses betrothal when asked. She was always the obedient and restrained daughter, until the vampire, Demitri, turned her world upside down. So, anyone know how to set up the poll on the profile page (Please! I can't figure this out!)? Aha, I'm a fail ^^'' Until then, I guess you could review here?<p>

* * *

><p>France turned from the glass shower to England, amused. "Why do I have to be quiet, <em>Angleterre<em>? I have my right to speak as well!"

"Shut up, Frog! You sound like America now with the whole 'freedom of speech' bit. I wish you would just sod off already."

Austria was already rubbing his temples from the two nations before him. He let out a sigh, which was unheard over their squabbling. Best to shut them up before he got a migraine, he thought. "Both of you, kindly shut your mouths already!" All countries turned their attention to the Austrian, who still continued. "Before you two can start another brawl like the one at the warehouse, we need to separate. There are four more doors, let's each pick one so we can get on with this."

Austria was indeed right that there were only four doors leading off from the hallway now, two with slightly chipped paint on the frame from wear exposing the wood across from each other, one unpainted on the right wall a little farther than that, and finally a less abused wooden door at the end of the hall.

Hungary and Austria each chose one of the twin doors, France chose the one farther on, and England claimed the one at the end. Cautiously, they opened their respective doors and entered.

Hungary entered the room to the right. It was mostly white, with light blue carpet and one bright green wall on the right. Two large windows opened up to the front directly opposite the door with pale pink shades that clashed with the rest of the room. The floor was partially covered with discarded clothes and other items, but the middle of the floor was clear save for a laptop, the charger trailing lazily away into the socket. Apparently it's owner liked to lay on the floor while browsing the internet.

A white daybed was up against the green wall, the chartreuse sheets bunched messily at its foot. An alcove opened up on the left wall which was apparently used as a closet. Hungary turned around again and noticed there was a large cage hidden behind the bed. She got closer and realized that guinea pigs must have lived there, judging by the pet supplies scattered around.

Hungary knew she was looking for danger, but she began to search drawers for the heck of it. She found books, more books, tissues, candy, friendship bracelets, and origami paper. Finally she stumbled upon a binder, which she flipped open. Inside, she found writing drafts, most of fantasy stories but one in particular interesting her greatly. She sat there, giggling and blushing at what her fellow yaoi fangirl had written, until Austria came looking for her.

Austria had found nothing in the other room save an overly large bed, an overly large makeup station, an overly large teddy bear, and piles of books stacked decoratively around the room in spite of the overly large shelves. It was forgivable though, as the shelves housed elaborate lego structures. After a quick peek around and no danger save that posed by an empty hamster cage (it was glass and positioned precariously) he went to go find Hungary.

"And what, exactly, are you doing?" Austria asked reproachfully when he found her, a light blush dusting his cheeks. He had gotten used to her antics, but they were still embarrassing.

"The girl that lived here had talent! Sure, there are things she could improve upon for writing, but wow, she had imagination," Hungary answered. "Who could've thought of-"

Austria cut her off with a cough. Hungary raised an eyebrow, and he sighed. "You can take that with you, but I do not wish to discuss it. Let's find the others." Hungary nodded.

"Sure... but Roderich?"

"Yes?"

"Why can't we do any of the things mentioned in this writing?" She gestured to the binder.

Austria's face reddened several shades darker. "I-I..." he spluttered, "People do not discuss those things with people around!"

Hungary cocked her head to the side. "But we're alone in this room right now, right? How come I can't ask?"

"We... We'll talk about this when we get home!" Austria turned to the door and held it out for Hungary, who smiled and gathered the binder into her arms.

"Okay. I won't forget." Austria only turned redder as they left the room.

England had been searching the main bedroom at the end, and it was clear that this was an addition. The architecture changed subtly, and everything on this end looked newer, from the paint to the floor. The room itself was cavernous, a gigantic bed at the end and windows opening on both the far and right wall adding to the feeling of vastness.

England checked under the bed and table draped with cloth and moved onto one of the two doors opening off the left wall. It led to a bathroom with a large sink, a toilet, and a shower. All in all very normal, if a bit fancy. He closed the door and moved onto the next one, this one being a closet made of a fragrant wood. He was about to write it off as safe when he felt something grab him from behind and cover his mouth.

France glanced at the room, saw it was a vacant office, and wrote it off as safe (unless, of course, computers decided to become zombies too). He crept into the room England was supposed to be inspecting, glancing around and then darting to the open door near the bed. The British nation was looking about the room, checking for danger. A smile spread across France's face as he slowly came up behind and grabbed other nation, of course, struggled and managed to hit him in the stomach, forcing him to let go with a gasp. He doubled over, clutching his chest.

"That's what you get for scaring me like that, frog!" England said as soon as he realized who it was. "What the bloody hell has gotten into you, this is not the time for games! There are zombies about!"

France, having recovered a bit, straightened up and said, "You're right, of course, England. I shouldn't have scared you."

England was a bit taken aback at this. "I'm...right?" he repeated.

"Yes, I should've realized you couldn't handle a hug. So sorry."

"That was not a bloody hug you wanker, that was an attack!"

A smile spread on France's lips. "No, it wasn't; this is an attack." He said as he reached for England.

* * *

><p>Pandas: Yeah, so, hope you enjoy! And foreshadowingcliffhanger/this chapter's end is unnecessarily cruel. Ahahahaha! Though you will get more before Sunday, hopefully.  
>Kat: Aha, you better. Otherwise, I'll throw a set of chopsticks at you. ^^ Love you, Pandas~<br>Pandas: I LOVE ALL OF YOU. OH MY GOD. LOVE. ESPECIALLY YOU, KAT. aha. I'm insane.  
>Kat: Aren't we all a little insane on the inside? xD<br>Pandas: ^^


	33. Chapter 33

Pandas: So, I'm fearing the inevitable flying chopsticks heading my way. The universe decided to hate me this week...my charger broke so I have to share my sister's (who has a dying battery, argh), we had to paint the house, and I was dragged to a social gathering. Arghhhh. Anyway, I'm typing now, so... T.T I failed T.T

France reached for England, a lecherous smile on his face. The British nation backed up, into a rack of clothes, until the Frenchman grabbed his shoulders. He leaned in close, tilted his head, and captured his lips. It was as wonderful as the time before, France's experienced tongue turning England's legs to jelly. Then his eyes snapped open and he shoved France away.

"You bloody wanker, I won't be your bleeding toy during the bloody zombie apocalypse!"

"England, I'm not trying to-"

"Shut your bloody mouth and sod off, you tosser!"

"But I don't-"

"Sod off you arse!"

"It's not like that, England! This is not a ploy to get you into bed, and if it was I wouldn't bother pretending!"

"Oh shut up France, I've known you for longer than I can remember and I know there is one thing and one thing only on your mind, you don't commit to long term relationships!"

"I beg to differ England, I think of wine and food as well as sex! And I can think of love too!"

"I've seen you bring home too many harlots to believe that! All you care about is pleasure!"

England glared, panting from all the yelling, while France looked at him contemplatively. "What if," France began reluctantly. "What if I swore to forsake the pleasure of the sexual part of the relationship? It would be a sorry excuse for a romance, but I would do it to win your affection."

England stared at him in obvious shock. France? Proposing to abstain from intimacy? For him? This made absolutely no sense, and his brain couldn't process it.

"England? Are you okay?"

"What the bloody hell are you talking about, France? What in the name of God is going on?"

"_Mon cher,_ what do you mean?"

"I mean that you aren't like this-you won't be able to survive without your innuendo! You won't be France!"

"About that," France said. "I meant that I wouldn't touch you. I cannot help the sexiness of my voice; it naturally seduces people."

"You tosser."

"So, England, what would you like to do, if we are not to engage in sexual relations?"

"Well... I... I...why don't we discuss something happy, France? Like the good old days, when we were empires. I remember when America was younger. He grew so fast... I...But, but back then, what did you care about? We never...really talked back then...due to all of our fighting...and all."

"Back then? I was looking after Canada...before you took him from me, that is."

"Oh."

Thankfully, this awkward turn in the conversation was not further explored, as Hungary burst in with a bang. She was clutching a binder to her chest, and was closely followed by a slightly red Austria.

"Hey! What're you doing in a closet all by yourselves?" Hungary said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"We were_ talking_, thank you very much."

Before Hungary could say something else, Austria interjected, "You can continue your talking downstairs; we have to report to the others." The two nations nodded and followed them back down the stairs.

Pandas: I apologize again for the terribleness that is me, I am sorry. I love you?


	34. Chapter 34

Kat: PANDAS! YOU ARE SO DARN LUCKY THAT YOU DON'T LIVE WITHIN A FIVE MILE RADIUS FROM ME OR MY IVORY CHOPSTICKS SET! *sigh* But you're still my best friend, so I shan't be angry at you. I'm done raging now. I'll be in the corner if you need me.  
>Pandas: T.T I'm sorry T.T<br>Kat: It's fine, mon amie. But on another note, I'm drunk from pure honey... O.o I didn't know that it was possible until after I've been told. So yeah... Aha, weren't expecting that, huh, Pandas?  
>Pandas: Man, I know one can get drunk off weirder things, mon ami. I guess I didn't expect you to be, though...<br>Kat: Aha, I know right? Although grandmother forgot to mention that before I actually had it... -.-' Anyways, what's done is done. Also, I apologize in advance for this chapter not being as long as it should. Grandfather just had his surgery on Friday, so I've been visiting him. Anyway, to the story we go.

* * *

><p>"Oi! Potato bastard! Stay away from <em>mio fratello<em>!" Romano barked at Germany, who was merely standing next to Italy. He marched up to the two and yanked his brother away from the larger German, who was finishing storing the bags into the hallway closet. Spain, who was trailing behind, greeted Italy and Germany. Then, he rejoined Romano.

A low growl escaped Romano's lips when he felt a certain Spaniard following too close for his comfort. He spun around sharply, only to be faced with Spain's always happy face. Of course the goddamned idiot would still be smiling during an apocalypse. "Why the fuck are you so close to me? I need my personal space, dumbass." Much to Romano's aggravation, Spain's ear-to-ear grin got even wider... if that as possible.

"But I like being next to my little tomatito! You're so cute~!" He playfully ruffled the Italian's hair, and got his hand slapped away. Unfortunately for Romano, his hair curl was grazed by the hand. His cheeks blushed and he looked down at anything that wasn't the Spaniard.

"Ve, Lovi? Why are you so quiet, _fratello_?" Italy cocked his head to the side, the way a puppy would do so.

"Aww~ Lovi, are you blushing? That's so cute. And you're not yelling, too. Yay~" Spain pulled him into a hug, but Romano was too distracted to notice.

"S-Shut up, dammit." he whispered, and buried his face into Spain's chest.

"Hm." Germany mused, with his hand holding his chin. "It seems that both the Italies only act like this when we touch their hair curls. Hm... I wonder." He removed his hand from his chin and yanked on the Italian's curl. Italy squeaked, his face also turning red.

Romano pulled away from Spain and shouted at Germany once more. "Oi! Stop doing that to him, _bastardo_!" He ran at him and started to punch his arm. However, Romano's punches had no effect on the tall German except for the annoyance factor.

A shrill shout came from somewhere upstairs, gaining the attention of the four nations. It angrily berated someone from the tone and volume of the voice. The countries exchanged glances before gazing up at the ceiling.

"Should we see what's going on?" Spain asked.

"Hm. It would be best if we did. I don't want another casualty," said Germany. Thus, the small group ascended the small steps.

"Get off of me, you bloody frog! You promised!" England shouted through the halls quite loudly. He jerked his hand out of the Frenchman's grasp and crossed his arms. Austria and Hungary, who were walking in front of the two blondes, glanced back.

"_Quoi, mon cher_? This is only an innocent gesture." France placed a hand on the other's shoulder, but England stiffened at the touch. The hand was shrugged off, and he concealed his hurt expression with one of his cocky grins. Only this time, it didn't reach his eyes.

"What promise?" Hungary questioned. The Englishman's eyes snapped out of their glare and into a sheepish look. He was flustered, considering how much trouble he had finding words. France glanced at him and chuckled, earning a smack from England.

"Shut up, frog! I will not be ridiculed by the likes of you!" The words echoed through the house, most likely reaching the ears of others in the group, but he could care less when he's bickering. "I'm a respectable gentleman, not some jester used for your amusement!"

"Honhonhon. Really? I would have thought otherwise." Francis mocked. Mirth sparkled in his azure eyes, although it was no match to the flames in England's.

"You are fraying my last nerve, wanker," England growled. His fingers twitching at his sides.

"Maybe we shouldn't be arguing now," said Austria, but he was ignored.

"_Oui_? I thought that I had done that hours ago. Although, it's no wonder. With your personality, your tiny head would burst from a mere taunt delivered your way. I'm glad that you're temper has lasted this far. However, I predict that you would throw another tantrum in the next five minutes."

"What are you saying, frog?" It came out in a low hiss, but Francis took no notice of it.

"You're a hothead, _mon copain_. It is a necessity for you to nag and bicker with me in every waking hour, is it not?"

England's hands shot forward and grabbed France's shirt collar into his fists. He brought them closer, faces inches apart. "Give me one reason for why I shouldn't murder you this second." His voice was dangerously low and rough. All traces of laughter was no longer on anyone's face, but Francis' was replaced with a small smile.

"Because I l-"

"You two!"

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><p>Kat: Again, I deeply apologize for the shortness of this chapter. Had I managed my life more, I would have made this chapter longer and in a better quality. However, that was not the case. Once more, I'm so sorry. T.T<p> 


	35. Chapter 35

Pandas: Hey all, just a heads up to tell you that at some point this summer I shall be going camping maybe, and I might not be able to write while I am there. So I apologize for that in advance. Also, sorry for lateness as my mom freaked out and sent us (sister and I) both to bed because my sister, who has and always will hate being touched, didn't want a hug. Mother is unreasonable.

* * *

><p>Germany stormed towards them, his fury seeming to take on its own life and invisibly swirl around him. So, normal Germany.<p>

"Can you find it in yourselves not to argue for five minutes?" the German berated them.

"Ve, Germany, I don't think we should be yelling," Italy said.

"Da, Italy," said Russia, ascending the stairs behind them. Italy jumped, spun, and managed to dart behind Germany without tripping over himself. Russia continued, seemingly oblivious, "After all, we don't want to have the zombies come and get us, da? They would bite us and then we'd have horrible wounds, and then we'd turn into zombies ourselves and kill all our friends horribly, and we don't want that, da?"

"Aiyah, aru," China said from behind him.

"At least he's no longer talking about the cats, China-san," Japan sighed.

"Ah! Speaking of cats, do you think animals could become zombies, England? That would be unfortunate, da? We'd have to kill all the kitties and puppies and that wouldn't be nice. They're too fast, da?"

The Asians again exchanged horrified looks yet again while the others looked at Russia with shock. The other nation smiled back.

"Um, well. I don't think animals could, since the spell as I remember could only bring back corpses of humans."

"Ah, that's good then, da? Also, where is America? I thought Germany and the others were looking after him?"

"Oh. I might have left him in the hall," Germany said, surprised he had forgotten. "I guess he was being so quiet and still I just...forgot he was there."

"Pft. At least he's quiet. I always hated how fucking loud he was all the time," Romano complained.

The edges of Spain's mouth pulled down slightly. "Lovi, it's not nice to talk about people like that."

"And that's just another fuck I don't give, tomato bastard."

Russia descended the stairs, sweeping past China and Japan. China called down angrily about respecting elders, but Russia pretended not to hear and continued on to the slumped form of America in the front hall. England cast a worried look to the young country, who didn't return it. The blonde was unnaturally still, and didn't react to Russia's presence. He scooped the younger nation up in his arms and brought him back up the steps to the others.

"Hey, America," Hungary chirped. "We were just talking about how you caught Canadaitis." The blonde's eyes stared at the grains in the wooden flooring, and refused to meet anyone. He looked small and frail in the Russian's arms compared to the way he usually was. Russia set him down on the couch in the living room with the bay window and sat next to him. All the nations filed into that room, settling down on the other pieces of furniture. France pulled a protesting England down next to him on the loveseat, Austra took the chair and Hungary perched on the arm, and the rest of the nations were forced to drag chairs in from the dining room.

"So," Germany began from his wooden seat. He had been lucky to grab one of the few with armrests, and Romano was glaring at him with murder in his eyes from his armless chair. Oh well, not like it was out of the usual. "What do you all have to report? Those inspecting the basement should start."

"There was nothing unusual in the basement, aru. They had a kitty, though, aru."

"Da, that's where I started wondering if animals could be infected too," Russia smiled. The Asians winced at the memory of that traumatic experience.

"Anyway, Germany-san, there was nothing dangerous, just paint, wire, and tools."

"Okay. Spain, Romano, what did you find?" Romano glared at him, but Spain opened his mouth to answer.

"We found another room with a treadmill, and a bed and a door that led to a garage. But Romano didn't want go in because it looked scary. And there was a bathroom off of the treadmill room, too. There was a shower with glass doors! And then Lovi said some very rude things about Francis and the people who lived here!"

"Onhonhon," France laughed, England having settled down on the couch and stopping trying to punch him. The British nation was as far away from the Frenchman as the loveseat would allow, scrunched up next to the armrest and staring in the opposite direction, but in the gap between them their hands were intertwined.

"When did THAT happen?" Hungary asked, amazed. How had her fangirl senses not detected this sooner?

"What? Lovi saying rude things? When we were in the bathroom together, of course!"

"Not that, THAT!" Hungary said, pointing at England and France. Too late, England snatched his hand back, red creeping onto his cheeks.

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><p>Pandas: I apologize for the lateness, arghhhh T.T<p>

Kat: Ve... I got nothin...


	36. Chapter 36

Kat: Just **** the world sometimes. You know? *stabs dagger into desk*  
>Pandas: The line above me fills me with fear T.T<br>Kat: Sorry. I just hate everything right now. -.-'  
>Pandas: You need a hug, bestie *glomp* I'm sorry<br>Kat: Maybe you should get off before that dagger ends up somewhere else, da?  
>Pandas: Sorry, probably wasting time, but off <em>what<em>? Oh wait, you? Sorry T.T

* * *

><p>The room was silent for a while, gazes focused on the loveseat containing a flustered England and a certain Frenchman. After recovering from the initial shock, a grin split Hungary's face. "Well, England, is France as good as he said he is in bed?" England's cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red and he started to splutter indignantly.<p>

"I-I haven't-" He managed to get out, before he was interrupted.

"Big brother France, good for you!" Italy congratulated him. He floated over and shook the man's hand, a big smile taking over the majority of his face. "I knew you could do it! Did you take my advice and tell him how you felt? Did you serenade him?"

"Did he what?" England asked, startled.

"So, what were you two doing in the closet, then?" Hungary asked, obviously thinking up unmentionable scenarios.

England decided he had to do something before the conversation could spiral even more out of control. "Be quiet!" he yelled. "I hate the bloody frog! I certainly have no feelings for him like that in the slightest! And nothing happened!"

"Oh?" France asked, somewhat hurt. England froze up, looking at him like a deer in the headlights.

"Well, I-I mean, I don't...I..." England took a deep breath. "I didn't really mean...I mean, I...do...have...feelings." He said, turning away and blushing furiously.

Hungary opened her mouth to tease him, but Germany wasn't having it.

"Enough about everyone's personal lives," Germany barked. "Moving on to the next group. Austria, what have you found?"

The brown haired Austrian turned his head to look at everyone. He cleared his throat before beginning. "First, we explored this room and the kitchen next to us. We couldn't find anything out of the usual, although England found a cabinet of tea and brewed some."

"It was bloody necessary!" said blond cut in. "Nothing else would have cured my headache. Plus, tea is the best thing in the world. It's-"

"Anyway," Austria continued. "We then searched the upper level and split up to inspect the bedrooms. The one I had belonged to a young artist, apparently. There was nothing out of the ordinary, unless you include the overly large... everything. So I went to find Hungary and the others."

"Okay. Now it's my turn," Hungary chirped. "The girl who owned that room was a writing genius! I have some of her work in this binder right here." She held up the writing as proof. "I love the way the boys make out. And then they walk into this bedroom and-"

"You shouldn't be talking about that, aru!" China pinched the bridge of his nose when he saw Japan unconsciously leaning forward. He nudged him with his elbow, and the island nation quickly straightened up and looked down into his lap.

Romano rushed over to Italy and clamped his hands over his younger brother's ears. "Don't ruin my brother's innocence!" Hungary only huffed in annoyance.

"Charming story, _oui_? Anyway, I was in a home office at the time. Unless computers can turn into zombies, there's no need to worry," France pulled England closer to him. "I had nothing to do, so I went to find _mon cher Angleterre._" The British nation shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but didn't pull away.

"And now we're back to the closet scene," Hungary said with a smirk.

The traitorous blush returned to England's face. "Really, Hungary. Nothing happened in the closet. Although, w-we've been talking." He reached for France's hand, uncaring of the eyes on them. "A-and we... We decided to pursue a r-relationship together."

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><p>Kat: Sorry about earlier, Pandas.<br>Pandas: Not your fault, you have a reason to be sad.  
>Kat: Still not an excuse to stab tables and threaten others. T.T<br>Pandas: It's ok.


	37. Chapter 37

Kat: Gahhh! Stupid, oppressive, over-confident, cocky, aggressive, loud-mouthed... ugh! *head desk* Stupid tiger parents -.-''  
>Pandas: I'm sorry T.T<p>

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><p>"... the fuck," Romano breathed. Only hours ago had France and England been lunging at each others throats with their (or rather, England's) pansy-ass magic. What caused them to suddenly fall into this lovey-dovey shit? The Brit stared at the wooden flooring, which was the only thing that wasn't drilling holes into him with its eyes. He let out a shaky breath in an attempt to calm himself.<p>

"What are you looking at? I didn't do anything wrong. Stop staring at me," England said. However, he still felt the weight of their gazes. "What is the problem? Don't you all have any manners? I said stop looking at me. Did you hear me?"

"... I never... th-thought that I would hear you say that," Hungary started. "God, I have to capture this moment!" She reached up her shirt and fished out Japan's camera that she stowed there earlier.

England's eyes widened in surprise. "Hungary, wait!" He started to raise his hand to block his face, but she was quicker. The telltale flash brightened the room before the blonde's hand had the chance to even cover his chin. It was forever etched into the artificial memory, unless deleted, of course. But who had the nerve to snatch the object out of a woman's brassiere? Although, there were exceptions, such as France.

"You did not!" England said, horrified. An evil smirk was her only answer. What if it was posted on the Internet? Fuck! He needed to get rid of that picture!

Germany cleared his throat, distracting everyone from the situation at the moment. "Moving on..."

"No, not moving on! You don't know what she would do with that picture," the Brit protested.

"Get over it, England. It's already done. You shouldn't dwell on the past," Austria interjected.

His bushy eyebrows furrowed together, and was about to say something until Italy spoke first.

"Ve~ What's wrong with the picture? If you're worried about how you look, I think that you both looked fine~"

"He's right, aru. You shouldn't exhaust yourself by fighting over a silly picture, aru." China said it in the most matter-of-fact voice he could muster. Beside him, Japan was having an internal debate for whether or not he should let Hungary keep his camera.

"It's not silly, I didn't want her to take the picture and she shouldn't've!"

"If it bothers you that much," France said, skipping over to where Hungary was sitting and reaching down her cleavage. "I'll get rid of it. There, it's gone." He tossed the device back to the Hungarian, who shoved it between her breasts with a pout.

England's eyes had grown to the size of dinner plates. "France!" he squeaked, and then his voice gained strength. "France, you can't just reach down a woman's shirt! It's...unacceptable!"

France rolled his eyes. "I just did it to delete a picture, mon cher, calm down."

"Calm down? You just-"

"Mon cher, it wasn't like I groped her, I just stole her camera." England gaped, but before he could talk France continued. "Besides, I have eyes only for you, _mon petit lapin_." He sat back next to England, whose cheeks had turned pink, and slung an arm around his shoulder.

"It is pointless to be talking about something that has been discussed, da? We should move onto some other topic," Russia cut in.

"What do you suggest?" Austria asked, thankful for any opportunity to change the subject. Russia opened his mouth to reply, but a weak voice cut over him.

"I'm tired," America whined, curling up into a ball.

"Of course, Америка," Russia said, turning back to the others. "From what you've said, there are four beds, three couches, and two chairs that we can sleep on. I'm sure England and France will not mind sleeping together in the larger bedroom,and I'm sure Austria and Hungary can also be together in the room described as 'overly large'," here he shot them all a terrifying smile, then continued, "China can sleep in the room where Hungary found that binder, and Spain, Romano, and Japan can sleep in this room. Germany and Italy can sleep on the couch together downstairs, America can sleep on the bed, and I can sleep on the couch under it. Any objections?"

Romano was scowling, as usual. "That German brute can't sleep with my idiot little brother!" he cried.

"Oh come on, everyone knows they sleep together already," Hungary said. "And I mean real sleep here, not the exciting kind."

"But-"

"I think it will work better the way I suggested, da?" Russia said, cranking his creepiness up and directing the full force at Romano. The Italian cringed under his gaze and turned away.

"Ve~ Don't worry, brother, I'll keep my clothes on this time!"

"Idiot!" Romano yelled.

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><p>Pandas: Woo<br>Kat: Eh? What happened?  
>Pandas: I finished. Other things too.<p> 


	38. Chapter 38

Kat: ...My yogurt blew up in my face... again. But on the bright side, I've finally figured out how to put the poll up on my profile page. A vote would greatly be appreciated! In case my pen name is forgotten (I'm very easy to forget), it's KittyKat2583.

* * *

><p>"All this time you've been sleeping with him <em>naked?<em>! You don't know what the perverted bastard could do to you. Have you no Italian pride?"

"Ve, _fratello_, what's wrong with that? We used to sleep in the same bed all the time, remember?"

"_Idiota,_ not out loud," Romano whispered harshly.

"Then it is settled, da?" Again, that smile that sends shivers running up and down one's spine was placed on Russia's face. No one bothered to object. "Excellent. Now we shall all sleep, da?" The nations shuffled out of the room and made their ways to their assigned sleeping areas. Although, Germany was unable to leave before Romano stepped in front of him and gave his warning.

"I would never do anything to harm your brother. I truly care about his wellbeing," Germany declared. Romano huffed and the German continued his way down the short flight of steps.

Soon, only Spain, Japan, and Romano were left in the living room. Japan quietly cleared his throat before speaking.

"Please excuse me for interrupting this... tense atmosphere, but shall we decide our sleeping places now?"

"Right, _mi amigo_!" Spain chirped.

"You're sleeping on the chair, tomato bastard."

"Lovi, why can't we sleep together like Feli and Ludwig?" Romano's muscles tensed before he replied.

"I'm not sleeping next to you, bastard! You're friends with that French pervert for a reason," he said, while a blush colored his cheeks.

Japan had been watching the exchange between the two with emotionless eyes, but refrained from speaking. It was not his business to interrupt their argument.

"Aw, Lovi~ You're looking like a tomato again." Spain flinched from the pillow that was flung at him. "Right... Sleeping on the chair."

* * *

><p>Sunlight filtered through the blinds and into the master bedroom. The smaller blonde stirred before his vibrant, emerald eyes fluttered open. With a groan, he tried moving his arm to block out the light, but found it trapped. He glanced down and saw arms encircled around his shoulder and waist. His eyes trailed down them, seeing that they belonged to none other than France. He could feel his cheeks grow warm from being so close to another person.<p>

"G-goddamnit, f-frog! I thought y-you said you w-wouldn't make any a-advances on me," England had said not so quietly, forcing the Frenchman to wake up.

"A-_Angleterre_," he started groggily, "_Bonjour_."

"'Good morning' my arse! You better have a good explanation for this position you put me in." England tried worming his way free.

France yawned. "Arthur, it is not my fault that you like to snuggle against me in your sleep, _non_? _Il est de ton faute_."

"Git, it's not my fault and I did no such thing! Not even unconsciously would I fraternize with a long time enemy."

France's eyes lit up with amusement. "Are you finished yet?"

"Git," England muttered. Francis chuckled and released Arthur from the embrace.

He lifted himself off the bed to get into a sitting position. France propped himself up with his elbows beside him. Just to be sure, England checked his clothing to make sure that it wasn't backwards or missing. One can never be too sure.

"Arthur, it hurts to see that you have so little trust in me." He placed a hand to his heart and clutched the fabric over it to be dramatic.

"Says the pervert who has had more one night stands than the number of hairs on his head."

"But you're the person in love with the pervert, _non_?"

"Don't flatter yourself, frog. You have been acquainted with Arrogance far too many times in the past. He's getting tired of you." England threw a teasing grin over to his boyfriend.

"As if you aren't the most prideful one around here," France scoffed.

"Speaking of prideful, I'm going to make my delicious tea and scones for breakfast." He rose from from the bed and ran a hand through his messy hair.

"A-_Angleterre_, m-maybe you should take a break from cooking. I-I mean that you worked so hard to give Alfred proper nutrition in the past. You deserve to relax once in awhile."

"Nonsense, frog. That was centuries ago. The past is the past, though I'm surprised you're bringing that up." The raised eyebrow was making France internally curse himself.

"W-What I meant to say was... I planned t-to make a romantic breakfast-in-bed sort of thing, but you woke up earlier than I did..." It was a lie, but it was better than a premature death, courtesy of the horrid abominations that Arthur calls 'food.'

"...R-really?" England rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well... If you insist."

France breathed a sigh of relief. At least he had bought the lame excuses. He threw off the covers and leapt out of bed. The two opened the door and found an exasperated China with a fist in mid-air, about to knock. The Asian quickly lowered the hand to his side.

"You two are so loud, aru," he complained.

"I'm terribly sorry, China, but France was being an arse."

"Hey, I'm the one going to make breakfast."

"I don't care about what the both of you do, aru," China cut in, "You are annoying, aru." He turned and walked back into his room, shutting the door behind him.

"Well then." England said. A hand was placed on his shoulder. A gentle smile graced France's features. He grabbed his hand and was led down the stairs and into the kitchen.

Once there, Germany looked up from a novel and placed his gaze on the couple. "_Guten morgen_," he greeted.

"_Bonjour, Allemagne_. How long have you been in here?" France said breezily.

"Not long. I was just waiting for the others to wake up. We should leave this house soon."

"_D'accord_. But we should eat breakfast, first." His thumb stroked the back of England's hand. "_Angleterre_, would you wake the others and tell them to get ready for breakfast?"

"Y-yes," he stammered. Damnit, why did Francis have to make him so flustered?

England exited the kitchen and entered the living area. Spain was still sleeping on a chair, his head bowed forward. His hand grabbed the Spaniard's shoulder and shook it slightly. "Oi, Spain. France is cooking breakfast."

He groaned before looking up at the Englishmen with bleary eyes. "Hm?"

"France is making breakfast," England repeated. He glanced at Japan, who was already sitting up from the couch, and nodded his greeting. "Though, I think that you should wake up Romano instead of me."

"_Sí, sí_." Spain yawned. He stood up stiffly and stretched before crossing the room. "Lovi," he called. At that point, England was leaving the room to ascend to the upper level of the house. He approached the first door on the right, which was the door to China's room.

"China, breakfast is almost ready," he said while opening the door. Inside, he found the Asian nation performing slow movements in a strong stance. The other was too concentrated to notice him step into the room. "...What are y- Ah!" England quickly dodged a punch.

"英国? Aiyah, you should have told me you were coming in, aru." His tone was slightly angry.

"...I did."

"No, you did not, aru. You interrupted my morning routine, aru."

"That's what it is? It looks like a slow-motioned version of martial arts."

"Tease all you want, aru. This promotes good health, aru." His arms practiced the familiar movements with a flourish and ease.

"...Right. I'll see you downstairs, I guess." England gently shut the door behind him and walked across the hall to Austria and Hungary's room. He proceeded to knock on the door, which promptly opened. It was the brown-haired woman who was behind it.

"Hey, England. We heard you yelling at France this morning. Did you two have sex?" Arthur immediately blushed.

"W-who would start a conversation in that way?!" Hungary only smiled devilishly. Behind her, Austria appeared, a slightly annoyed expression crossing his face.

"I think you've embarrassed him enough, dear." He then shifted his gaze to England. "You wanted to tell us something?"

"Y-yes," Arthur said while recollecting himself. "France is making breakfast, and he should be done soon. I just wanted to let you know."

Austria nodded. "Thank you. We will be down in a few minutes." The door then shut again.

England walked down the stairs and found Romano yelling at Spain.

"Stupid tomato bastard! Why did you wake me up so early?!"

"But it's past seven, Lovi." His arm was held in front of him, as if he were using a shield, to block the punches from Lovino.

"I don't care! You know that I didn't take my siesta yesterday, idiot!"

England shook his head and descended the steps. At once, he saw Italy sleeping spread eagled on the couch. He walked past the coffee table beside it and gently shook Italy. "Italy, it's almost time to eat."

He faced away from England, eyes still closed. "Five more minutes, Germany," he mumbled.

"It's not Germany, it's England." Italy shot up and got on his knees, his hands clasped together in a begging gesture.

"I'm up! I'm up! Just please don't hurt me, please! I'll do anything! I have relatives in London, so please don't hurt me!"

"I... won't..." England only stared, unable to make anything of it. "Er... France is making food."

Italy's face lit up. "Big Brother France is cooking? Yay! I hope it's pasta." He got off his knees and skipped his way up the stairs, leaving England by himself.

"I thought it was you I heard, da?" Russia was standing in the mouth of a doorless entryway.

"Y-yeah... Breakfast-"

"I will go get America." With that, Russia turned and left the room. Before he could return, however, England quickly climbed the stairs and returned to the second level.

He rushed into the kitchen and saw most of the nations already gathered around circular table, chatting with each other. On the island, France had already assembled platters of crêpes and fresh fruits. Other kinds of jams and sweet sauces were neatly placed along with the foods. Searching for the French nation, he finally spotted him putting some sort of pastry into the oven. Closing it and setting the timer, he removed the blue oven mitt from his hand and placed it on a nearby hook.

The other turned around, and azure eyes met forest green ones. A wide smile appeared on France's face, and England found himself doing the same. There was no need for words, because they thoroughly understood each other through the deep gaze. It wasn't until Hungary gained their attention that the whole moment was ruined.

"Aww, this is so cute! This moment is so fluffy right there!" Thus, Hungary was far away in her fangirl world and her fangirl squeals.

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><p>Kat: Six pages~ Woohoo! *fist pumps* I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist the temptation of a possible fluffy scene. ^^<p> 


	39. Chapter 39

Pandas: Man, Kat is amazing. Seriously. I wasn't here for when she was writing the last chapter, but...damn, I've read it now and it is GOOD.  
>Kat: I felt like it was all slopped together like Alfred's hamburgers, aru. *cringe* Pandas, is it a bad thing to have Romano rent out a space in my head?<br>Pandas: Do you mean...you're an angry kitty? An angry, foul-mouthed kitty?  
>Kat: Eh? What? No?! It's just that Lovi always-<br>Romano: That's not my name, dammit! Stop misspelling it all the damn time.  
>Kat: I would argue, but that would make me look like I belong in an insane asylum... -.-'<p>

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><p>Breakfast was served to the waiting nations, England helping France present the food. The Frenchman swept about with a kind of calm and confident grace, proud of the meal he had made, while England moved with purpose and concentration, balancing the platters carefully. It was all on the table in no time, and the nations fed themselves without talking, a kind of weary but pleasant quiet settling over them.<p>

Russia managed to drag America upstairs and was in the process of trying to get him to eat. "You must carry on, da? We will get England to Canada, and he will fix everything, da? And everyone will be okay, but you won't if you don't eat this, and you won't see your brother again."

"Russia! Don't say things like that to him! It's terribly depressing!" England scolded. Russia turned his smile on him, but England's disapproving scowl did not waver.

"I'm just trying to encourage him to eat, da? If he doesn't eat, then-"

"You don't have to say it! He's upset enough as it is, and you saying things like that to him isn't helping! I can't even remember why we've allowed you to be around him while he's like this, he hates you!"

Russia's expression flickered, and then settled again in its usual unwavering smile. But for a second, a look of hurt had surfaced, being told he was hated nearly snuffing out his smile. Nearly.

He stood up, towering over all the people sitting at the table, and left without a word. America's blank eyes focused for a second, his head turned to look at the empty seat next to him, and then his face was again expressionless. He lifted his fork and began to eat.

Now the silence was tense and unpleasant, the others glancing from where Russia had left and then back to England. France coughed, breaking it. "Mon cher, was that...really necessary? I think...I think he actually _was_ trying to look after America. It was just...a bit cruel to say that, don't you think?"

"Well..." England began, fidgeting. "Well, it's true, isn't it? I was only looking out for Alfred's best interests." He was starting to feel very uncomfortable.

"England, I can't believe you'd do that," Hungary started. "You finally get with your love interest, and you had to stamp all over America's chances for some...intimate healing." A giant grin spread over her face.

"You bloody...this isn't one of your goddamn stories, this is reality! They hate each other!"

"I think it's more like hat_ed _now. Instead, they are swimming in sexual tension." Hungary looked quite pleased with herself.

"There is no bloody sexual tension!"

"That's what you used to say about France and yourself," she said with a wink.

"That...that's bloody different!" England yelled, feeling his face heat up. Hungary just grinned at him.

Before this conversation could get any further, France reached out and touched England's arm. "Mon cher," he began, "What you said to Russia wasn't kind. I must ask you to go and apologize. We cannot afford to be divided over things like this, and he was trying to help, in his own way."

"A..apologize?" Arthur looked incredulously at France, who only stared back with a straight face. "...Fine." With that, he took his leave out of the kitchen and went off to search for Russia. It didn't take long for Ivan to be found laying in the loft bed, downstairs. England slowly climbed the ladder on the side of the bed, gripped the bars firmly, and tentatively spoke to him.

"R-Russia?" Said man showed no indication of hearing him and continued to stare at the ceiling. He was motionless, save for the steady rise and fall of his chest and the occasional blink of his eyes. "L-listen, I-I know that you must be angry with me, a-and you have good reason to. It's just that... Alfred is still like a little brother to me. I... I don't want to see him hurting anymore. So... I'm sorry." England's gaze shifted down to the carpeted floor, several rungs below him.

After a few moments of silence, England decided to leave Russia alone. He only got his foot one rung lower, though, before the nation rolled over to stare at him. England suddenly became very aware of how easy it would be for the Russian to push him off the ladder. Even if it wouldn't cause any permanent damage, falling to the floor would hurt. Then another unpleasant thought entered his mind, of Russia lifting him up and flinging him out of the room. He ducked his head away from sight and squeezed his eyes shut, readying himself to feel hands removing him from the ladder. He waited for a moment, but nothing touched him. An eye cracked open and saw that the Russian had made no move toward him, only stared blankly at him.

"You're shaking," Russia said finally, still staring at him. "Not much, but I can tell. You're afraid of me. Everyone is."

"Um...well, I..." England stuttered, not knowing what to say to that, and then came to the decision that instead of saying anything, he'd bolt. Before he could though, Russia grabbed his arms and dragged him into the bed, depositing him and shifting so that he was sitting in front of the ladder.

Wide eyed, England scrambled to the other side of the bed and pressed himself against the wall, thanking the Lord that it was a decent-sized bed. Russia did not move after him.

"You're shaking even worse now," Russia commented, looking at him with an unreadable expression. England thought he might prefer the psychopathic smile; at least it was expected.

"What...what are you..." England began, fighting and failing to keep a tremor out of his voice.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Russia said, sounding frustrated. "Everyone thinks I'm going to hurt them, and they hate me, and they fear me. Even when I smile, people still cringe when they see me. You hid from me as well, and you hate me and America hates me. I didn't bring you up here to hurt you. That ladder is cold and uncomfortable, so I thought that you would be more comfortable on the soft, warm bed, da?" His words sounded bitter and sad, and he drew his knees up to his chest.

"Oh, well...um..." England said, stumbling. "I...I'm sorry. I really am. Maybe I've judged you too harshly. I...would you perhaps...want to...start over? I mean...maybe we can talk to each other... sometime... in the future...possibly...perhaps," he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Really?" Russia said, looking up. He knew from watching England interact with others that he had trouble expressing his feelings, and that this was a kind of proposal of friendship. Russia decided to take it.

He leaned over and wrapped his arms around the smaller nation, who squeaked and flinched. He decided to ignore that, just enjoying the feeling of hugging a friend.

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><p>Pandas: Oh yay, relationship building! In other news, a lot of you seem to think that we've forgotten Sealand. This is not the case. His fate will be revealed in due time.<p> 


	40. Chapter 40

Kat: asdfghjklasdfghjkl Gah! This is our 40th chapter, Pandas! Can you believe it?! ^0^  
>Pandas: Oh man, 40? Woah.<br>Kat: And in a few weeks, it'll be a year since we started planning this. XD Ve, time really does fly. Imma miss being a freshman, dude.  
>Pandas: I think I'll only be sad at the end of highschool.<p>

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><p>After a moment, England gently pushed the larger nation away. The smaller nation cleared his throat awkwardly while Russia loomed in front of him. To be fair, the Russian wasn't trying to loom; it was out of habit.<p>

"Don't...don't you think we should go upstairs again?" England suggested. Russia nodded and turned to the edge of the bed, leaping off the side. His coat flapped open and he landed on the balls of his feet and one hand splayed open for balance. Before England could protest, the Russian straightened up and pulled him out of the bed, setting him on the floor. Russia smiled at him: a real, genuine smile instead of his usual one which made one think that he would reach down one's throat and pull out one's guts.

England inclined his head for Russia to go first, and the other nation walked out of the room and up the stairs, England not far behind.

Crumb-filled plates were collected and washed. England scrubbed at a plate and handed to France for drying. Germany was finishing his coffee at the table, and China was lecturing Japan on how he shouldn't be interested in other people's love lives. The German's chair scraped against the linoleum floor and he walked briskly into the next room. In the living area, Italy found a stereo and performed some upbeat dance. Seeing him almost lose his balance in a spin, Romano thought that he could do better and joined in. Of course, Hungary was secretly filming this so that the older twin wouldn't get angry and throw a hissy fit. Soft, tinkling notes flowed in the background from the piano in the corner, where Austria's fingers expertly flitted across the glossy ivory and ebony keys. The grand instrument had been well kept, with its smooth walnut surface, though frequent use and age had knocked it somewhat off key. Still, it was better than nothing. Looking back to the dancing, it became a trio with the addition of Spain, but it yet again became a duo when Romano placed a hand on his head and plopped onto a couch. Beside them, Russia sat America into the loveseat before sitting next to him.

Germany cleared his throat to direct everyone's attention to him. The last piano notes echoed before dying out, and Spain turned off the stereo before sitting next to Romano. Once Hungary safely hid her camera, she sat down on the bench next to Austria. Italy perched himself on top of the arm rest, next to his brother. The four from the eating area congregated by the doorless archway. All eyes landed on the German, who opened his mouth to speak.

"We must move again before any of the zombies know that we are here. The sooner we get that book, the better. In thirty minutes time we leave for Canada's house. Understood?" Everyone nodded their heads. "_Gut_. Remember to take anything you need before we leave." With that, he retreated downstairs, Italy following closely behind, as usual.

"Damn that potato bastard. Ordering us around," Lovino grumbled.

"Hm. It's too bad that you don't like him much, Romano. By the looks of it, there's a good chance that he could be your brother's boyfriend." Hungary said absent-mindedly.

Romano abruptly stood and took a step forward to Hungary. Spain also rose and tugged at the other's sleeve, trying to calm him. "Don't just say random crap like that out loud! I'll never let that fool get that close to my idiot brother!"

"Lovi. Calm down, _por favor_." He turned him around to see his face. "You know that Feli can make his own decisions, and he knows that Germany would never want to hurt him. You need to give Ludwig a chance."

"Like hell I would. And what do you have to do with any of this, bastard? You're not his older brother. You haven't seen his heart broken when that son-of-a-bitch Holy Rome left him. Just piss off." Romano tried to walk away, but Spain held his arm in a firm grip.

"_Te amo, _Lovi." he whispered. Romano was froze, his back still facing Spain.

"W-_what_?" The room was quiet. Hungary was watching it closely, as if it were a live soap opera before her.

"_Te amo_," he said louder than before. "I love you, Lovino. I... I wish that I had said it earlier, before this whole zombie apocalypse thing, but at least I said it now. W-will you... go out with me?"

Romano slowly turned back to Antonio, his scowl replaced by an expression of complete seriousness. His mouth opened and closed, unable to think of anything good to say. Then, a small smile lit up his face. "It's about time, bastard." Forgetting about all of the other people in the room, Romano wrapped his arms around the Spaniard's neck and hugged him. Before he could pull away, the hug was returned.

However, things could never be perfect during an apocalypse. There was bound to be a share of bittersweet moments in store for our nations. Romano stiffened in Spain's arms and looked up into the other's face. The Italian's eyes were blank and glazed over. Quickly, before Antonio could react, he lunged forward and bit his neck. Others gasped, shocked that another had changed into one of the undead.

Spain took a step back and reached a hand over to his new wound. Hurt was clearly written on his face. "Lovi, why? Why you? Why now?" Tears started to spill from his green eyes. He reached out and still held him in an embrace. He now addressed everyone in the room. "Leave. Get everyone out of here, before it's too late. Go. Now."

France didn't need to be told twice. "Germany! Italy! Spain and Romano are zombies! Get us away from here! My beauty cannot be devoured by the undead!" He grabbed England's arm and dashed down the stairs and out the front door.

"Frog! How big can your ego get? All you care about is your looks." England quickly grabbed a duffel bag and his weapons on his way out.

"Goodbye, Spain," Russia said before hoisting up America and leaving. Others gave looks of horror and despair before grabbing their things and going out the door. Germany rushed up with Italy. The latter was shaking and tears were in his eyes.

"_Fratello_! Is it true?" Italy started to cry harder when Spain grimaced and nodded while restraining Lovino.

"Feliciano. We must leave now."Germany had to drag out a struggling Italian through the door.

"_Ti amo, fratello_!" he yelled out before the door slammed shut behind them, closing them off from the abandoned friends inside. Germany carried Italy to the truck and buckled him in before hurrying off to the driver's side of the truck. After putting on his own seat-belt he quickly drove away from the house. The brunette was constantly wiping at his eyes with the sleeves of his shirt. Soft mumbles of "_fratello_" were heard.

Germany glanced over to him. "Italy, I'm sorry about Romano."

He sniffed. "H-he w-w-wasn't... -sn't a-a b-bad... -erson," his words were muffled from the sleeve, combined with his sobs. "W-why... ouldn'... -e .. me?!"

The blonde awkwardly patted the other's back. "Erm... It's going to be alright. England can help them once we find that book. We can get Spain and Romano back. Don't cry."

Italy sniffed again and looked up. "Ve... I guess."

Germany gave him a small smile. "Everything will be fine. You'll see." Italy smiled back. It was the only hope they had left, that book. They would cling to it, because it was better than spending the rest of their lives mourning over the loss of their loved ones. The book would be their savior.

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><p>Kat: Ve, I hope I didn't make anyone cry. T.T<br>Pandas: Mm, poor Spain and Romano  
>Kat: I'm sorry Ita-chan! T.T *hugs* Ve, but don't worry, there's still a little Romano in my head.<p> 


	41. Chapter 41

Kat: Ve, imma have to use a different character to channel my anger with, now that Romano's dead... Er, undead, whichever works.  
>France: Perhaps I can help ease your troubles. Onhonhon~<br>Kat: Gosh darnit, France! I'm in no mood to deal with you. *takes out family sword* Go bring your pervertedness somewhere other than here, because Pandas is sick and won't be here to stop me from beating it out of you.  
>France: *stares nervously at the sword* O-<em>oui<em>. _Je pars._

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><p>Hungary replayed the video she took from this morning, silent tears were pooling around her eyes. How could such a happy moment morph into a scene from the horror movies in a matter of minutes? They just had to turn into the enemy at the least expected moment. She sifted through the photos taken in the past two days. From Romano's shocked expression to couples in their sleep, it was clear how vulnerable they were to the epidemic.<p>

Austria reached over and wiped away a stray tear from her face. Hungary stared into his eyes for a moment before flinging her arms around him and crying into his chest. He soothingly held her and whispered reassurances into her ear. So far, six of their dwindling group fell victim to the infection. Only time could tell which of their friends would remain. Others in the back of the truck looked away to give the couple more privacy.

In a corner of the container, China was sitting in a lotus position, meditating. He needed to calm himself and clear his mind of the recent events. Beside him, Japan stared at the floor in front of him. The younger Asian was still shocked at how quickly it had all happened. He wasn't even mildly interested about England letting France's arms encircle around his waist.

Russia sat America on his lap, the latter still the same as after the incident with his brother. The taller nation ran a hand through the other's hair. As expected, the blonde was unresponsive to the touch. Only a week ago, he would have shoved the hand away and get angry at Russia. So much had changed in only a few days, it was hard to grasp reality.

Conversation was dead in the back of the truck, since it couldn't be carried on for long. It was silent in the back, save for the occasional sniffle from Hungary. Not even a few lines of banter could come from France and England.

Life was considerably much duller without Romano and Spain in it. Spain was the ball of sunshine and happiness that gave cheer-up charms to those who needed it. Many had laughed at the sheer stupidity of it, but were now wishing that the Spaniard could give them a cheer-up charm now. Romano was the one who could be depended upon to bluntly insult a statement or action. Although he was always scowling on the outside and had a short temper, the constant string of curses was also missed.

Japan sighed, if it was like this in the back, Italy must be having a harder time to cope with his brother and friend's deaths. He knew that Spain was often seen in Italy's house, and was almost like another brother to his bubbly Italian friend. Thankfully, the brunette was up front with Germany. He was sure that the German could comfort Italy well. It was easy to believe that if he looked up, he would see Romano pressing his ear to the metal wall to hear the conversation the two were having up front. But his logic argued that he would never find them here. No, they were abandoned at the house in order for the others to continue living.

The feeling of loss was mutual for everyone gathered there. They couldn't be saved, they knew, yet it was hard not to feel guilt rise up in their chest. However, wallowing in misery wouldn't help those whose lives were lost. They had to carry on to help free them from the clutches of the undead, so carry on they will.

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><p>Kat: Sorry it's so short T.T It was a short notice.<p> 


	42. Chapter 42

Pandas: Hello all, I'm sorry I couldn't write earlier, I had a stomach bug T.T But I'm better now, so tada~ here is a chapter.

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><p>The nations stayed quiet during the drive, leaning against their loved ones and trying not to think too hard about what was happening. A few hours passed like that, no one daring to break the somber silence. When the truck came to a halt, a few dared to hope that they were at Canada's house. They were disappointed.<p>

The back door of the truck was hauled open and Germany and Italy climbed in, Germany dragging it almost closed behind them. The big man rolled out a map of Canada on the floor.

"What's going on?" Hungary asked, inching closer and staring down at the piece of paper.

"We have crossed the border, but I do not know where to go from here. Italy and I were hoping someone in here knows where Canada's house is," Germany stated plainly. He cast his eyes around to look at everyone. "Do any of you know?"

"I believe it is in Montreal," England said. "Or…or Ottawa…"

"I swear he was in Toronto," France interjected.

"I thought he was in Vancouver!" Hungary said, pointing at the map.

"Everyone shut up!" Germany yelled. "Does anyone actually know where Canada lives?" The other nations fidgeted but said nothing. Germany covered his face with a hand.

"If only we could ask America," Hungary sighed. "I'm sure he knows where his brother lives."

China sighed. "Good luck with that, aru."

"Well, we might as well try," England said. He leaned over to speak with the unresponsive nation. "Hey, America. I know you can hear me. We need to get to Canada's house. His actual house, not just the country. Do you know where it is? It's very important."

America didn't even twitch to acknowledge that he was being spoken to. He just continued to stare with unfocused eyes at nothing and lean on Russia.

"Great," Hungary said. "Now what? Do we just search every house in Canada? Why don't you have some sort of tracker or summoning spell for this kind of situation?!"

"I didn't really foresee this occasion," England said, frowning.

"You should have! Isn't there a spell for that, too?"

"Divination is a very complex art, and the interpretations of the signs are vague!"

"Shut up!" Germany yelled again. "This is no time to argue. We will have to find a new house to stay in and wait until America snaps out of it! Is that clear?"

"Yes, Germany!" said Italy, saluting. "Very clear! And when we find Canada's house big brother will be alright!"

"Ja, Italy," Germany affirmed. The Italian beamed. The nations climbed out of the truck and Germany hauled the door closed. There were zombies about, but they were Canadian zombies and thus politely waited for their conversation to be over. They bided their time by breaking into the nearby pancake house and drinking all the maple syrup. They also found people in there, but as they were screaming and not really saying anything to interrupt, they were fair game for Canadian zombies.

The older Asian nation paid little mind to the others, (including the polite zombies) and talked very little. China rubbed small circles into his temples. " Damn headache, aru," he muttered under his breath. No matter what he did, the migraine did nothing but intensify. Sighing and giving up, his hand slid down his face and felt the rotting flesh that replaced his once smooth, pale skin. It hadn't grown much during the day, which was odd since it spread so rapidly when they were in the warehouse. Maybe it was infecting another area in his body? He checked his arms and felt through the fabric of his pants for any decayed flesh. He only worried more when he couldn't find any. If it wouldn't spread to the rest of the body, then the only place left was his head...

No, it couldn't be. His headache was only caused from the lack of tranquility these past two days, right? Is he really turning into a zombie? He glanced back to the other countries and quickly looked away again. He looked to the ground. It was probably best to stay away from the others to avoid risking further infection among them. His feet lightly lead him away from the group and he was about to round the corner of the truck, until Russia stepped in front of him, cutting off his way of escape.

"You shouldn't leave by yourself, da?" He said, much too loudly for China's taste, since it drew attention to him.

"E-eh! I-I wasn't leaving, aru! A-and... It's rude to poke around in another person's business, aru..." he trailed off.

"Well, then, just out of curiosity, you wouldn't mind telling us what you were doing, da?" Russia was getting a bit too close for comfort, and towered over China, who mentally cursed the height difference.

"I wasn't doing anything wrong, aru. Why are you so suspicious, aru. I wish that you would just-" He suddenly stopped, mid sentence, before his eyes slid closed, his face void of any emotion.

"Wish that I wasn't what?" The dark aura was emanating from the Russian giant again, but China seemed unaffected.

His eyes snapped open, but they weren't normal. They held no life in them, and were glazed over. He jumped up and clawed at Russia's face, but missed because the other stepped away just in time.

"C-Chugoku-san?" Japan stammered. "A-are you alright?" He flinched when his elder brother snarled at him.

The Chinese man lunged at Japan, but Russia acted quickly and swung his pipe at the other's head. It wasn't enough force to crush the skull, but there would be a concussion... if zombies could get concussions, that is. The Canadian zombies who stared at the group now saw that the group had ended their conversation, and were now charging towards them, planning to attack and snack on their necks.

The zombie lunged at Russia, and right then something strange came over America. He stopped swimming in a sea of depression and realized that he had to DO something or someone else close to him would get hurt. Suddenly his head was clear and he grabbed China's undead corpse and heaved it into the air. It went skidding along the sidewalk when it landed, and ended up blocks away from them.

Growling, he got to his feet again and stumbled toward them. America grabbed Russia's arm and started running in the opposite direction, the other nations following.

After running for what seemed like forever, America slowed down and eyed up a house. He was about to break the door down when Russia said, "Allow me," and started to pick the lock. The nations waited quietly for a few seconds, and by then the door was open.

They walked into this new house, but before they could start doing a sweep to see if it was safe America shoved Russia down on the couch and started kissing him. The surprised Russian tried to pull away to talk to him, but America just yelled, "Shut up!" and continued on.

The other nations (except Hungary) stood around awkwardly, not knowing what to do. And while it was great that America no longer seemed comatose, but they weren't sure if he was entirely in his right mind yet.

"Um...America?" England asked tentatively. America looked up and glared. "I hate to... um... interrupt, but you wouldn't happen to know where Canada's house is located, would you?"

"Are you fucking retarded? He's right above me," America snapped. England blinked, surprised.

"I...I meant his actual house, not the country."

"It's in fucking Victoria, dumbass."

England blinked, and then quickly grabbed a metal object from near his waist and spilled it's contents on the occupants of the couch.

"What the hell, man?!" America yelled. "What the fuck was that?!"

"Oh. Um...holy water. It was holy water... you were acting... strange, you see, so I wanted to see if..."

"If what? If I was possessed? You insane old man! Fuck you!" England flinched.

"America!" France began, "How can you talk to _Angleterre_ like that? He was worried about you!"

"Since when do you care about England?"

"Since we began dating."

"You...you what?!" America cried. "That's crazy! I thought you said you hated each other!"

Hungary laughed. "It's because you can't read the atmosphere that you didn't notice all the sexual tension!"

"Yeah, well...fuck you and the rest of the world! Leave me alone!" he yelled, before continuing to kiss Russia.

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><p>Pandas: Well, who died and made him Romano, huh? I'm sorry, that was horrible.<br>Kat: Ve, this would be really mean to say, but... he's very convenient for channeling inner anger...  
>Pandas: Oh Roma, you were awesome. America is just being bitchy.<p> 


	43. Chapter 43

Kat: Ve, and we go back to school... And gosh, we only have 9 more characters (ve, that we focus on anyway) left. 'Tis sad. T.T But at least it's not very hard to keep track of them, now. Oh and ve, to one of the anons (you know who you are), all of the possible pairings were listed in the first chapter's author's note. Ve, if you skipped it, it wasn't our fault, because it was a fair warning. Ve, _tu es très méchant. _Gosh, I was brought up to respect others and stuff, but that was plain rude... Ve, okay... Now that I'm done with my super humongo rant, do you have anything awesome to say or share, Pandas?  
>Pandas: Man, I'm not so mad at the anon. But anyway...school. I met some freshmen, they were cool, I am now working on bringing them to the darkside. LIKE I DID TO YOU, KAT. AHAHAHAHAHAHA.<br>Kat: Ve, well at least I still manage to have some innocence, since upperclassmen from last year refused to explain many, many things to me. Ve, maybe that was a good thing?  
>Pandas: Like what? Maybe I could explain~<br>Kat: Ve, I can just see your evil smile right now... Even though you're at your house, miles away from mine. Ve, and I think they kept it from me for a good reason.

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><p>The beige, upholstered couch groaned under America's movements. Below him, Russia was still confused, but hesitantly kissed the other back. The others quietly walked out of the room. In Hungary's case, she had to be dragged out of her photo taking section. Old floorboards, hidden with grassy green carpeting, creaked occasionally. Decorative scrolls with inky calligraphy and silk embroideries with traditional buildings and smoky mountains embellished the cream colored walls. An old television set and glass figurine case were placed in front of a flight of stairs, but there was still time to explore the upper level later.<p>

Once out of the living room, the green carpet continued into the small dining room. A circular table with five mismatched chairs was placed near the window that faced the doorless entryway. A white ceiling fan hung above the table. To the right, a kitchen with updated appliances and linoleum tiling was placed. An island jutted out from the wall and was complete with a built-in cabinet hovering above it. The glass doors allowed one to see stemmed wine glasses and bottles of liquor lined up neatly in the display. Instead of staying in this room, the group proceeded down to the hallway at the left because they could still hear kissing noises from where they were.

A door was located near the opening of the hallway. Once opened, they could see that it was only a closet full of jackets and other clothing articles. Seeing nothing interesting in there, the door was promptly closed. Further up was another door on the left, placed in the center of the small strip of a hallway.

France slowly turned the brass doorknob and opened the door. It was too dark too see how far the steps went and where they ended. His hand felt around for a light switch. The lights went on, instantaneously illuminating the wooden stairs. The nations proceeded down, looking over the white railing to see more of the basement. They congregated at the bottom of the stairs, and their footsteps echoed off the black tiling.

To the left was a small kitchen, complete with another fridge, cabinets, stove, and exhaust fan above it. Japan ventured out and ventured out to yet another door to the left of the second kitchen. A light was flipped on and he came back momentarily.

"It is only a storage room, but I think that it belonged to an Eastern family judging by the items in there."

"What kind of items?" Hungary asked.

"There was a box of some preserved food items, but I can't read the language. It's most likely Chinese, though. And there were also many shelves full of herbal medicines. If only Chuugoku-san was here, he might have been able to find something useful." Japan let out a sigh.

"Ve, it's going to be okay, Japan. We're going to get the book and then everything's going to be fine~" Japan gave a small smile to his Italian friend.

"Er, right," said England. "Anyway, shall we continue?" The others nodded and went into the right side of the level. Against the wall, a toy chest overflowing with toys was placed. Near it, a child's miniature car stood. It's red color contrasted greatly to the pale walls of the room.

"Ve, it's a car!" Italy skipped up to it and sat in the driver's seat, pretending to drive the car and waved. "Ve, Germany? How fast do you think this can go?" Hungary could be heard giggling in the background, and small clicking sounds and flashes followed.

Said German pinched the bridge of his nose. "Italy, get out of there. This isn't the time to play."

Italy pouted. "Ve..." He got out anyway, even though he still wanted to try out the car. Everyone relaxed, because although the car wasn't real the memories of his terrible driving were.

There was another doorless entryway on the wall perpendicular to the stairs. The black tiles came to a halt at the threshold, and navy blue carpeting covered the room's floor. A display of Chinese long swords and daggers was mounted onto the wall, above a television set. Beside it, there was a door that most likely led up to the backyard. A small children's table set was in a corner of the room. A pile of puzzles and board games were stacked on top of the square table. On the wall facing them was a shelf filled with story books and old VHS tapes of Disney movies.

A small green couch positioned in the middle of the room acted as a divider. The half of the room behind it had two twin beds, both had one side pushed against a wall. Between them was a set of drawers. On the end of it that was nearest to the bed dressed in Snoopy sheets was a blue lamp with a child's handwriting saying, "I miss Mommy." Pictures of a small family stood at the other end, near the bed with the grey sheets. A man was hugging a woman from behind. In the woman's arms was a small child that could only be weeks old at most, and a small boy who was about four years of age was by their legs.

Hungary picked up the frame, studying the picture. The man was clearly Asian, and the woman was Hispanic. The boy seemed to resemble his mother more, with his tanned skin and how his hair was slightly wavier than his sister's. It was harder to tell who the baby looked more like, since her eyes were closed when the picture was taken. She gently placed the photo back to its original place, and looked around at the others. They were discussing a plan to split up and explore the outside and attic. England mentioned that he saw a small garage that was separate from the rest of the house. The group going outside (which was Italy, Germany, Japan, and Hungary) agreed to also investigate there too. They parted and went in the opposite directions to get to their destinations.

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><p>Germany pushed open the metal doors and stepped into the fading light of the sunset. They walked onto the stone patio, where a few stray chairs and a table were placed. The yard was filled with vibrant, green grass that swayed slightly with the soft breeze. In the center of all the grass was a pear tree firmly rooted into the ground. The fencing was made of rough, grey stone that all beared the same design carved into it. To the side, a narrow driveway ended with a shed-like garage with white siding. Behind the building, a maze-like garden had weird-looking, lumpy, green fruit dangling from the vines that climbed along the wooden posts and canopy, which Japan had recognized as bitter melon.<p>

The garage door was already cracked open, and Germany shoved it up to allow them to pass inside. On one wall, various tools were organized into different sections. An empty bird cage was stuffed into a corner, probably forgotten about over the years. Other random objects were stuffed into the room, and a stray jump-rope was laying on the floor. A clearing was formed near the middle of the room, and only a box with a small blue blanket that was carelessly thrown over it occupied the space. Italy stepped up to the box, and started to tug lightly at the cloth.

"Be careful, Italy," Hungary cautioned. Italy nodded his head and continued to remove the blanket. Once it was off, he peered into the box, and giggled when he saw what was in it.

"Ve, look guys! Come see!" He motioned for them to come over, and he moved aside to give them a better view. Hungary went over first and she smiled when she saw.

"Aww, it's so cute!" she gushed.

"What is it?" Japan asked, and he and Germany walked over to them. Inside the box was a duckling snuggled into another blanket, still sleeping. It was mostly black, with small splashes of yellow on its back and face. There was a black stripe that passed through the eyes.

"Isn't she cute?" Italy gushed. Although, Hungary seemed to be the only one who shared his enthusiasm. "Can I keep her, Germany? Pretty please?"

Germany only stared at the duckling, thinking of a valid reason for why it would be in someone's garage. "Erm, I suppose..."

"Ve, yay~!" The bubbly Italian scooped the bird into his arms and walked happily back to the house.

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><p>Kat: Super fail ending. Darn stupid French project that I had to have in the beginning of the school year. *Headdesk* And yes, I just had to describe the entire layout of my former house... not entirely since I haven't even mentioned the attic yet. And no, I didn't actually have a pet duck, that was a decade before my time. But yes, grandmother did have a few ducks and chickens that she raised at the old house, I just wish that I was born at the time to see them. T.T Ve, but writing about the house brings back so many memories. *stares off into distant past* Ah, my childhood...<br>Pandas: Nice to reminisce, isn't it? Though it does make one feel old...  
>Kat: Ve, thanks for making me feel like an old lady then, aru... XD<br>Pandas: aha ^^'


	44. Chapter 44

Pandas: Well hello, readers. How art thou?  
>Kat: Ve, hopefully better off than I am *headdesk, but comes up with an unfinished essay stuck to forehead* ….I have something on my face, don't I?<br>Pandas: At least we have a long weekend. Hooray for Jewish people!  
>Kat: *unsticks paper from head* Yeah, and I'm going to the promenade with my Freshman friend and see parts of NY from there, so that takes an hour or two out of my work time...<p>

* * *

><p>As America and Russia were still...occupied...the nations decided to ascend to what appeared to be the attic.<p>

Once they climbed the staircase, the door opened to reveal a walk-in closet that jutted out from the wall. On each side of the closet, separate sides of the room were laid out. To the left was a twin sized bed pushed into the right corner of the room. Next to it stood a study desk that had papers scattered over its green painted surface. The ceiling above was slanted at an angle, the reason being that it was under the roof. In front of the bed was a small shelf full of VHS tapes and CDs. Along one wall was a collection of various guitars, most of them acoustics.

In the right section of the spacious room, a blue-grey couch sat against the same wall that the closet was on. The wall perpendicular to that held numerous pictures of a man and a woman, but it was a different couple than the one from the basement's photo. A dresser was to right of the pictures, and on top of it lay a box of jelly beans along with a small drawing that was created by a child. Across the room from the couch were two towering bookshelves that had books crammed into the spaces. They were mainly comics and drawing books. Austria flipped through a sketch pad, scanning the pages decorated with unfinished drawings. It was some sort of American cartoon art style. The sketchbook was put back in its original place.

Just then, thundering footsteps could be heard running up the stairs and Italy darted in, rushing up to France. He was holding a duck, which he held out to be inspected, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"Uh," said France, startled by suddenly having a faceful of duck.

"I named her Pasta, big brother France!" Italy yelled with glee. "Isn't she wonderful?"

"Italy," France asked, "Why do you have a duck?"

Germany, who had followed Italy up, answered for him. "It was in the garage. Italy decided that he would take care of it."

"Well that's lovely," England said. "Italy, would you mind removing the duck from France's face?"

"Veeeeeeee~" Italy said, drifting off to the corner of the room.

"Honestly, I don't know why that bird's still alive," Germany said. "There was no one to feed it."

"I found a dish of rice nearby, Doitsu," Japan said.

"Ah. Well, that explains it then."

* * *

><p>Russia pushed on America's shoulder, getting him to break the kiss. "A-America, we shouldn't be doing this, da? Yesterday you said that you hated me, and now you kiss me?"<p>

The American only roughly shoved Russia deeper into the couch. "I don't give a fuck. I don't care. Just shut up." He yanked at the first few buttons at the Russian's shirt, showing him the pale skin of his neck and collarbone.

"America, stop. Stop this, now," Russia grabbed the blonde's wrists and forced them away from his chest. He got off the couch immediately so that Alfred wouldn't get the chance to pin him down again. "We need to talk. You need to get your feelings straight."

Alfred glared at him, blue eyes hardening. "There's nothing to talk about. I'm fine," he hissed.

"No, you're not. You're still disturbed." His violet eyes stared directly into the younger nation's. "Tell me what's wrong."

America laughed coldly. "Like I said, there's nothing to say."

"I didn't give you a choice. I'll say it again. Tell. Me."

"Quit bitchin' around. I told you. I'm fine. Nothing's wrong." America rolled his eyes. Russia was not amused, still looking intently at the other. "You know what? I'm outta here. I hate being surrounded by all these idiots." He stood up and started to walk away, but Ivan quickly grabbed his hand and held it in a firm grip.

"You're not going anywhere. Now talk to me."

"Let go," America growled, his voice low and threatening.

"I don't think so."

"Let go!" His voice grew in volume.

"No." Russia's face had a serious expression, but America could care less.

"Let the fucking go of me, dammit!"

Someone cleared his voice at the bottom of the staircase. The two whipped their heads around to see the rest of the group congregated there. Hungary decided to speak. "Um... Are we interrupting something?"

America took advantage of the momentary distraction and pulled his hand free of Russia's, and stalked off to one of the bedrooms. The sound of the door slamming echoed through the house. It was as if the vibrations had brought with it and spreaded the tense atmosphere to the nations.

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><p>Pandas:Well, lovely readers, that brings us to the end of another chapter.<br>Kat: *has pen sticking out of hair* Mhmm. Anyway, goodnight. *slumps onto desk*


	45. Chapter 45

Kat: Grr... Darn writer's block... *headdesk* Sorry if this sounds utterly horrible OTL And I'm so sorry that this is short, I had to install programs onto my grandfather's laptop, and he just had to screw up the harddrive and systems. Je deteste ma vie.  
>Pandas: Oh, you poor dear!<p>

* * *

><p>"Well then..." Austria mumbled. An awkward silence fell upon the house. The duckling that was still held in Italy's arms quacked once, causing everyone to stare at it. Its beady eyes glanced around at everyone before quacking again.<p>

"Ve? Does that mean you're hungry, Pasta?" The Italian turned the duck so that it was facing him. She titled her fluffy, feathered head slightly to the side and quacked again. "I'll take that as a yes." He smiled at the bird. "Ve, I think I saw some food back in the garage!" With that, Italy sped off to the side door in the kitchen.

"Italy, wait! You shouldn't leave by yourself," Germany shouted after him, and started following the Italian outside, leaving the others in the room.

They stood in the room, avoiding eye contact with each other. Then, Russia started to walk away from the room. He turned back to the others. "I will be in the basement, da?" The tall nation padded out of sight, and the sound of a door opening and closing could be heard.

"Er... Maybe I should go check up on America," England said before he started to the other room. France's hand reached out to gently grab the Brit's wrist.

"Maybe it would be better if I went with you, _Angleterre_. _Non_?" France said softly.

The two nations approached the door and England knocked on it gently.

Through the door came a unintelligible roar, followed by, "FUCK OFF YOU BASTARD AND DIE IN A HOLE! I HATE ALL OF YOU! BASTARDS!"

"He...seems upset," France noted, and thereby he won the award for understatement of the century.

"America? What's wrong?" England called through the door.

"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG? YOU STUPID FUCK, MY BROTHER IS DEAD, THAT'S WHATS FUCKING WRONG!"

"America, there is a chance..."

"FUCK YOU AND YOUR LIES! MAGIC ISN'T REAL! IT'S FAKE! FAKEY FAKEY FAKE! YOU LYING DICKS!"

"I assure you, magic is real," England said through the door.

"No it isn't," came America's dejected and muffled reply.

"It is. Canada will be okay, I promise. I swear on...I swear on tea, America."

"Go away," America said quietly, the sound barely penetrating the door.

England backed away from it, frowning. France wrapped an arm around his shoulder and then pulled him up the stairs into the attic, where he sat him down on the bed. He would have used the couch for this, but that would be awkward in this situation. France wrapped his arms around the other nation and just held him for a while.

* * *

><p>Russia swept into the basement, frowning. He sighed and sat on the bed down there, feeling the frustration building inside him. America had just used him as a distraction and refused to open up, and it was a terrible feeling. He wanted to be in the type of relationship where America could trust him, not just for spontaneous makeouts. Why was this so confusing?<p>

* * *

><p>Kat: Gosh, thanks so much for helping me, Pandas! *glomps* And I got the laptop working again~! ^^<br>Pandas: Huzzah!  
>Kat: Ve, yes. So exciting, I know. XD<p> 


	46. Chapter 46

Pandas: Why hello, dears. I am a terrible person. Just terrible. I need to stop neglecting my writing.

Kat: And I need to hit the books. *random book is flung to my head* Not literally! *sulks in corner*

* * *

><p>Russia sighed and leaned against the wall. He regretted getting America worked up like that, but he still felt that his line of questioning was justified. America's feelings were important, but so were his, and he wished the other would open up to him instead of pushing him away. He was lashing out instead of confronting his feelings, and it hurt. He cared about the other nation, and didn't want to see him like this.<p>

Their relations had seemed to have been getting better, both letting go of some of the anger from previous events. They had been able to be in a room together without threatening death, they had seemed to slowly release past hurts.

He thought back to before, back to the Cold War where things between him and America were the worst. They had rushed to gather weapons, to form strategies, to gather information, and the tension between them built and built. The coming war seemed inevitable, but yet it never happened on their soil. Instead they chose to manipulate pawns against each other, setting up wars to show their animosity.

Other nations, weaker nations, were hurt because of their duel, but it didn't matter. What mattered was getting the upper hand, being the best, beating the both wanted power, wanted their form of government to be the best, wanted to pummel the other into oblivion. A giant, uncrossable rift had opened between them.

The scars from that were still there, he knew, and they would never completely go away. It was a terrible time, a time where paranoia and hate rippled throughout the masses. Russia wished those scars had never been there, and that he and America were on better terms in the beginning. Maybe then he wouldn't be pushed away.

Alas, they were there, and it might be the downfall of everything before it even starts.

* * *

><p>Pandas: Short but a lot of emotion, da?<p> 


	47. Chapter 47

Kat: Pandas, I'm not dying anymore! ^^  
>Pandas: That is excellent, dear<p>

* * *

><p>England quietly walked across the creaky hardwood flooring, careful not to disturb the silence in the room-like space at the end of the shot hallway. A few muffled lines of conversation could be heard from the living room and kitchen. He neared the door to the left, which had a wooden door with several scratches on it. It had been about an hour since he last been here. The blond haired nation brought his hand to the door and gently knocked on it. The sound echoed through the air, and England was sure that it was heard inside the room. He cleared his throat before speaking.<p>

"America, it's time for lunch," he called.

"Fuck off and go have tea with your freaking imaginary friends that your sick, psychotic mind conjured," came the harsh reply. England gave a sigh and continued to speak through the door.

"But surely, you must be hungry."

"...No." A rather loud rumble sounded within the room.

"Hm, and I assume you're not hungry now?" A smug tone was laced into his British accent.

"-o to hell, old man!"

England gritted his teeth together in frustration. "Really, America. How long do you plan on keeping up this behavior? I know that your still mourning over Matthew, but you don't have to act this way. Can't you put some trust into me at all? Look at Italy, America. He's lost three people, but he at least has some hope that I can bring them back. Why ca-"

The door slammed open with the angry American standing behind. His face was reddening as he delivered his words. "Hope? Believe? This isn't another fantasy fairytale, England. Magic and that type of shit doesn't exist. Get that into your freaking delusional head."

Heavy footsteps rounded the corner, making the two look to see who was coming. Russia stood at the mouth of the hallway, his smile unusually off his face. He gazed at the other nations. "Am I interrupting something?" He seemed to be detached.

"No, not at all," America answered stiffly. Russia only nodded.

"Er... I guess I'll leave you to talk now." And with that, America and Russia were once again alone together.

"Why do you goddamn bastards always have to get on my case? I'm perfectly fine," America snapped.

"Alfred, I just want to hel-"

"I don't need any fucking help!" he hissed.

"Then at least let us be friends, da?"

"Friends? With a commie bastard like you? Right, like that would happen anytime soon." It was said with much sarcasm. An expression flitted across the Russian's face, but a trace of hurt was laced into his features.

"Is that how you still feel, America?" His voice was barely above a whisper. Russia stared into the his cornflower eyes, while the blonde looked into those violet ones.

America's face was hard, but some emotion other than anger or frustration could be seen swirling around in the windows to his soul, desperate to make itself known. He was about to say something, but Italy's loud voice could be heard in joyous tones that it was lunch time from the dining room. The blonde gave him another burning gaze before turning and leaving Russia alone.

* * *

><p>Kat: Sorry this was so short. My family dragged me out of the house on Sunday, and I was a moron for not doing much before. OTL Again, I apologize.<p> 


End file.
